Into Every Life a Little Rain Must Fall
by NemesisZero
Summary: Even killing a god can't make Ranma's life any easier... all he got for his trouble was a new brand of nightmare, a dangerous new chi technique he can't control, and a swarm of angry fiancees. It seems no matter how low you sink it can always get worse.
1. An Endless Grey Drizzle: Act 1

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
**A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 1: An Endless Gray Drizzle**

**Pre-readers:  
**TonyLoco  
Freak247

**Disclaimer... the part of the fic everyone usually skips  
**I don't own Ranma 1/2. Really. I'm just using the characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi in a rather creative way to waste time and enjoy the beauty and flexibility of the English language. If you're reading this, then you are on a fanfic site, which involves the above by definition. That being said, I probably could have gotten away with leaving this part out, honestly, but it seemed like a good place to start warming up my fingers for some serious typing, at least until I figure out how I want to start this thing...

**Update Note:  
**Apparently QuickEdit can't make sense of my charecter-specific scene breaks... pity. Until they sort out this issue I guess generic breaks will have to do. Sorry for any confusion this technical problem makes. If you're new to the series, just realize that every time you see a divider that the POV has changed, even if the scene is still in progress.

* * *

Tendo Nabiki was not having a good day. 

A shame, really, considering how nice the day had started. She slept in until eleven, enjoying the many-splendored joy that is the weekend, when the staccato sound of chirping finches and a mild late-spring breeze woke her from a rather, shall we say, 'pleasant' dream. A dream involving not only various 1000+ calorie chocolate desserts and a waist-deep pile of yen notes in denominations several factors larger than those actually printed. Either of these were astoundingly good starts to dream in her opinion, but topping all else was one exceptionally gifted, almost to the point of frightening, pigtailed young man, who wore nothing but the skin he was born with... unless she considered herself an article of clothing, that is.

"...Don't know what you were thinking, inviting..."

Sure, she felt a little guilty for dreaming about her sister's fiancé and her soon-to-be brother-in-law like that, but a girl's gotta dream, right? Living with a young man with an absolutely flawless physique, the World's Cutest Butt, and a killer smile will do that to you, especially if he has the odd habit of appearing in half nude chase scenes about the house at least once a week.

Actually, he had missed this week, on account of being in China for some silly reason or another. She had been very concerned when Akane had apparently been kidnapped again, with Ranma not around to save her, but that fear was gone now. Apparently, whoever took her was connected to Ranma's escapades on the mainland, big surprise, and now the two of them, along with Mr. Saotome, Hibiki Ryoga, and the Chinese Fiancée Front, were returning to Nerima this afternoon, safe and sound.

"...Sense of decency? Of family honor..."

As soon as she came downstairs her father thrust a batch of wedding invitations at her and told to go about town and hand them out to Ranma and Akane's friends. Well, a few stops at the local maniac hangouts and the crisis had been averted. With any luck, the chaos would prevent her father's latest 'Operation: Matrimony' scheme from forcing her sister into such an early marriage. With any luck, she would collect enough wedding gifts from the other guests to actually turn a profit after the repair bills they would surely cause.

Her suspicions panned out, of course, when the fathers jumped Ranma before he even had time to unpack his bags, and Kasumi had ushered Akane off to her room to prepare her. Surprisingly, she didn't put up much of a fight when the wedding plans were announced to her. Hmmm, maybe inviting the local maniacs wasn't such a good idea after all.

"...No idea how we can afford to repair the damage to..."

Things turned ugly real quick once Ranma came to. The list of Bad Things that occurred that afternoon included, but was not limited to:

1) An all out brawl over a cask of water

2) Two Kunos, one with a katana, the other a black wedding gown

3) Several unconventional small explosive devices

4) Hibiki Ryoga and Shampoo wall removal demonstrations

5) One really big explosive device of conventional, if dated, design

6) One frazzled Ranma, current status and location unknown

7) One Akane tantrum, as usual

8) Multiple injured and/or refund-seeking patrons

The 'honored guests' had gone way above their usual levels of destruction, even after she adjusted her figures to represent the affect of Ranma and Akane's absence allowing pressure to build, and a special factor added to represent the desperation that such a formal threat to their own perceived worlds would cause. By several zeros. "Well," she mused, "looks like I'm taking a semester off before I leave for college."

Suddenly she realized that her father's rant had stopped. She was sure that she knew, more or less, what he was going to say, and thus had no trouble responding despite her lack of attention.

"Are you done yet?" She began. Always a good idea to seize the power back in a discussion after the opponent has worn himself out with a rant, she thought with a smirk. Now just speak with authority and explain without apologizing and everything will fix itself.

"First off, I don't know how all those people knew about the wedding. The only people I gave invitations to were Hiroshi, Daisuke, Sayuri, Yuka, Dr. Tofu, Gosunkugi, Ukyo and Konatsu, and Ms. Hinako. Others must have told the rest, or, especially likely in Ryoga's case, just happened by. Ukyo is Ranma's best friend, despite her fiancée status, and I thought he would want her there. Konatsu I invited to help keep Ukyo under control. Gosunkugi is mostly harmless, and I only invited him on the premise of a photographer for the event. Ms. Hinako, despite your somewhat justified reservations, Father, was the best choice to act as a chaperone for the trouble that inevitably follows anything involving Ranma. Unfortunately, she was distracted by cake."

It was even true, that was the beauty of it. Sure, Shampoo may have found a 'misplaced' invitation just outside the cat cafe, and the Kuno's just may have overheard her talk when she took Hiroshi and Daisuke over to the practice sessions of the kendo and gymnastics clubs, respectively, before handing over their invitations. The rest were still a mystery, so she really didn't know how 'all' the people at the wedding got there.

"Don't worry about the dojo. As long as the framework is relatively undamaged it should be within my monthly budget to fix, provided we keep the wedding gifts and charge all the involved parties to the damage about 10,000 yen each. 20,000 each for the Kuno's because they can afford more, and to cover Happosai and Ryoga's shares because there's no way they'll pay up. Yeah, 700,000 ought to do it. Anything else, Dad?"

"Goodness, but what about the loss of face and the disturbance to the home's normal functioning that his has caused? What about all the food and effort that was wasted in preparing for the event? What about the effects on Ranma and Akane's relationship this will cause?" Kasumi added, looking up from her magazine. She smiled, but it was far thinner than normal, and her eyes were cold and focused, unblinking.

Nabiki was momentarily shocked, immediately rethinking the situation. Kasumi adding to the objections," she mentally tallied, "and even appealing to the loss of abstract factors? Yikes, this isn't good. Ok, time for plan B she decided: Blame Someone Else". Silently, she wondered just where Ranma was.

* * *

Wet. 

Cold, sore, slightly burnt, strained joints, mild concussion...none of these conditions annoyed Saotome Ranma as much as the constant fall of water that had decided to wake her up from a rather restful if unscheduled nap. "Why is it always water?" she dejectedly asked any gods that might be listening. The only answer was a distant roll of thunder.

Slowly and painfully, Ranma opened her eyes, forcing her way through needle-like pain. The ceiling of the Tendo dojo awaited her curiosity, sporting some morbidly impressive new holes. Beyond lay only seemingly endless seas of rolling gray clouds, oppressive and numbing. "Well," she sighed, "at least the world has the good sense to mirror my mood."

Pushing aside some unrecognizable debris, Ranma stood up, wincing as she absently placed weight on a twisted ankle joint. Apparently, she had forgotten that she severely sprained it earlier in the day over a bucket while being chased by Kuno. She leaned against one of the few surviving support poles and surveyed the scene. It seemed the dojo's walls and floor fared no better than the ceiling had. A quick glance around the darkened hall revealed the remains of several rows of hastily discarded seating, a smashed podium, several crushed bundles of flowers, several ruined dishes of food next to an overturned table, and a now empty cask of nannichuan water. "The Tendos really shoulda held the wedding in a better location," She mused, "Like a bomb shelter."

Apparently, the dojo agreed with her. She stumbled slightly as the post she wad been using as support fell, its subtle balance upset by even the slight weight of the redhead. With a low, ominous groan, and a shifting in the debris, the ceiling called it quits and fell. Ranma was momentarily off balance and the delay ensured that she was simply too far from an exit to get out before everything collapsed. With a deafening crash she was flattened to the floor by the joist of solid, ancient wood that was delicately supported by her rest-post, and then through it to the muddy, rain soaked earth underneath the dojo's supports as more lumber pilled up on her back.

Seconds later, as the dust cleared, there was a sound. Had anyone been outside to here it other than its utterer, they would have heard a very tired, resigned, and grossly understated "Ow." With powerful, if awkward, motions Ranma quickly freed herself from the ruins of the Tendo family legacy. For a moment the almost-groom had to stop and stare at the end of the only official home that the art of Anything Goes ever had, as well as the former site of the shrine to the late Mrs. Tendo.

With a sigh, she turned from the broken mass, an obvious bad omen, looking for a place to just think for a bit. One step on her now further injured ankle prompted the removal of the roof from the list of possible isolated spots. "Too far a walk to the bridge, so I guess it's the koi pond for tonight." She said to herself, hobbling through the wet grass and slightly chilly evening air. Once again, the thunder rolled. The overcast sky continued its light but steady downpour.

If Nabiki was having a bad day, Saotome Ranma was having a bad life.

* * *

While Nabiki tried to decide whom to shift what blame onto, she was saved from further questioning by a rather loud crash from outside. For a moment, she simply froze in confusion, staring first at her sister then father, both returning her empty, bewildered look. 

After a few seconds, Nabiki gathered the courage to offer commentary.

"I don't think that was thunder. Sounded kind-of... wooden, and dull, like something heavy hitting the ground." Kasumi turned to look towards the eastern wall, the direction from which the sound came.

Soun merely nodded, slowly. "Perhaps a tree was struck by lightning, and a limb fell off?" He offered halfheartedly. It was a ridiculous supposition and he knew it, considering the sheer volume of the crash. "Or perhaps Akane is training extra hard with a wooden dummy."

Further ridiculous supposition was cut off as the eastern door opened briefly, allowing a petite red head to enter. She wore a mud-caked Tuxedo (formally of pure, unblemished white silk) that was very baggy on her, almost tripping her up twice as she crossed the distance from one side of the house to the other. No one spoke as she limped across the room slowly, but merely noted the details of her description, from slight bloodstains to scorch marks.

As she reached the western door, she paused and turned her head just far enough to look at Soun with one eye. "Oh, by the way," she commented softly, her eyes rooted on her feet, "You need a new dojo. I sorta accidentally knocked it over. Feh, not that it took much, after today." She left silently before any response could be made.

Tendo Soun looked across the room to catch the eye of his friend Genma, looking up from the TV. For a short but seemingly eternal moment he sat, silently meeting his blank stare, until the combination of Ranma's words and the facts of the sound sank into place. With sudden speed, the two men rose and dashed to the Eastern door, followed closely by the two girls present.

Soun ran clumsily but determinedly towards the wreckage through the mud and slightly too long grass of the yard until he reached the first piece of lumber. He collapsed then, and lay in the mud holding the wood beam to his chest like a small child. His frame shook slightly in a sporadic rhythm, but for the first time in years he couldn't find any tears to cry.

Genma's pace slowed at the sight, until he simply lumbered to a halt about five yards from his friend. His shoulders slumped as he stood before the wreckage of his dreams, facing the pile in stoic silence as his curse took hold in the light rain. After a few moments he gathered his friend to his feet and led him off towards their favorite bar, to drown this latest setback in the momentary distraction of cheap sake.

Kasumi stopped midway down the covered walkway, suddenly needing the support of the firmly rooted posts of the roof. She sobbed quietly while taking in the sight of her father, now a broken shell of a man, for the second time in her memory. She spoke only two words, separated by several seconds. The first, "Mother," was soft but clear, and full of reverence. The second, "Ranma," was delivered with a bitter rasp and clenched knuckles.

Nabiki stood silently within the doorway, without any clear response.

She simply froze up, having been caught without knowing just how she should feel at the moment. Seeing nothing she could do to help those gathered before her in homage to the fallen structure, Nabiki accepted the unhappy duty of informing Akane about the day's latest tragedy, mentally multiplying each dept by ten.

* * *

Ranma limped out into the cool evening air, sloshing through wet grass and mud holes on her way to the koi pond. Sitting on the largest rock, she casually untied her ruined bow tie, which was uncomfortably restricting, and dropped into the pool. She watched as it left ripples, which soon dissipated in the constant rain. "Just like my life," She realized. "The rain's been falling for so long, I only notice when a really big drop falls, or when it all stops." With a dejected sigh, she corrected as an afterthought "If it ever stops." 

Through all the various signals of pain throughout her body, the worst hurt came from her heart. No one even bothered to bring her in the house, just left her on her back, buried among the wreckage of their latest ploy to control her life. With the hope of victory gone, their toy was no longer important. If that didn't show how they all really felt, nothing did.

"Maybe I should just end it all right now, just drown myself and get it over with." She offered grimly. "Suicide might be the only way I'll ever get out of this with any honor intact." She paused briefly to wipe away some wetness from her eyes, and then began to laugh grimly. "Nah, I'd have to commit seppuku for that, and there's no way I could get through the ceremony without someone interfering." She closed her eyes, bitter tears joining the wetness already on her face. "God, I don't even enough control over my life to end it properly. How sad is that?"

The pale, sickly green glow of a Shi-Shi hokodan began to form around her, flaring brightly as her depression fueled chi gathered without her even noticing. In the dark of the late evening, with the last faint traces of the sunlight creating dark reddish-orange spots on the rolling clouds, she failed to notice her aura grow darker, almost black along the outer edge. For just a moment, she thought she saw another face in the pool, grinning at her with pale skin and red eyes, but as soon as the image was in her mind, it vanished. Just a trick of the light, she supposed.

"Just go to hell for all I care!" A sudden shout from the night gave her enough pause to dissipate the gathered chi harmlessly, inadvertently saving the lives of everyone on the block. As the chi bled away, back into the air, water, and ground, Ranma felt a slight chill. She attributed it to the weather and her very damp attire, even though it seemed like it came from within her rather than from without.

"Great," she grumbled, "Not even the heavens care about my fate anymore."

* * *

Tendo Nabiki stood at Akane's door for a good ten minutes, her hand less than an inch from knocking. At first, she was trying to figure out how she would tell Akane about the dojo. Her usual attitude would fail her here, she knew. Soon her thoughts turned from devising a prepared statement to general defensive strategy should her sister decide to rant as daddy had. When she couldn't think of a way to totally remove the blame from her, she began to try and talk herself out of it all together. Only the thought that Akane would only be harder to deal with tomorrow if she wasn't told now kept her from just going to bed. Well, that and a spark of genuine human concern, but don't tell anyone. 

Perhaps she had good reason to be a little frightened. Through the door all she could here were slow, rhythmic noises of exertion, and the occasional deep thud of something heavy striking the floor. From that information, either Akane was having sex, lifting weights, or beating something to death with a rock. Okay, so the first and the third were impossible because they would have involved Ranma, who was outside. Number two, however, was a definite Bad Sign, making it very likely that her sister was very, very angry at something, as the only time she ever worked out anymore was to burn off steam.

So lost in thought was she failed to notice the rhythmic noises end, and thus was caught in the awkward position of being startled when the door was opened roughly to reveal a sweaty, scowling Akane on her way towards the bath.

"Yeah, What?" Growled Akane, roughly pushing past her sister into the hallway.

Yup, definitely a bad sign. Oh, well. Here goes nothing... "Akane, did you hear that noise outside about ten minutes ago?" It was a simple, noncommittal start offering lots of flexibility depending on her response.

"Nope. What sound?" No emotional change at all.

Well, so much for that. Nabiki lightly held Akane by the shoulder and turned her around "Um, Akane, the uh..."

"Spit it out already! I want to take a bath before I start stinking." Akane gruffly shook off the offending hands, and adopted the classic hands-on-hips position of female aggression, her eyes hard and "Not that it really matters, seeing as how nobody's going to be in bed with me tonight to smell it. It's not like tonight was supposed to be my wedding night or anything."

"Oh Crap. Well, I'm already committed I guess..." she thought, steadying her will. "Akane," once again, the hands reached up, offering support that clearly wasn't welcomed. She lowered her eyes, softened her voice, and broke the news in the manner least likely to get her killed. "The dojo... Akane, it collapsed. There's nothing left but rubble."

She stood there like that for a moment, waiting for a reaction, any reaction. Instead, she was met only with an uncomfortably heavy silence, and found herself holding increasingly tensing shoulders. When Akane cleared her throat quite obviously, she looked up to a pair of impatient and threatening brown eyes.

"Well?" Akane broke the silence, but somehow Nabiki didn't feel any better.

"Well what?"

"If you plan on apologizing, you are really ruining it with this waiting game."

"What? How can you blame me? I didn't do anything!" Despite her better judgment, she fell into a defensive spiral. "Why should I apologize for just trying to help you two avoid Dad's latest scheme? It's not like I told those idiots to blow the place up! They came up with that brilliant plan all on their own."

The reply was delayed much longer than could be usually expected. Akane stood in silence, her hands clutched into fists so tightly that her nails dug into the flesh of her palms and let loose a trickle of blood. She smoldered in her fury, her eyes held closed and her breathing irregularly deep and rapid.

As Nabiki watched, fixated on these developments, Akane burst right through her usual blazing fury and ended up on the other side, allowing a menacingly cold look to settle onto her features. Nabiki started to back away slowly, but Akane held her hands to her shoulders with a grip worthy of a hydraulic press, and brought her head forward until they were practically nose-to-nose.

"You are going to have the dojo rebuilt, using only the finest materials, in exactly the same state as it was in the day Father finished it. This duty falls to you, Nabiki, and only you. You will pay for this, but without any of your usual schemes: no by blaming the Kunos, no selling out Ranma, and defiantly no taking advantage of the gifts that our wedding guests left behind. I expect that it will be completed before Ranma and I graduate next spring, just in time for him to begin teaching while I go on to college. If you don't get the job done to my satisfaction, I will... punish you. You got that?" Akane's icy glare held for a few of the longest seconds of Nabiki's life, but ended with Akane shoving her roughly onto her backside and continuing on her way to the furo as if nothing had happened at all.

Nabiki scrambled to her feet and blocked Akane's path with an accusing finger. "Okay, first off that is an absolutely ridiculous demand and you know it. Where the hell do you expect me to get that kind of money without Kuno? You know that no bank will loan me that kind of money for a new building, especially not with your reputation around building supplies, and definitely not without a steady source of income."

Akane responded dismissively, "Your problem, not mine."

"Oh really?" Nabiki spat, finding her groove. "Have you ever stopped to consider just how the money I get from Kuno and my various Ranma projects get used? Have you? Take a good look at that nice new Gi you're wearing, little miss holier-than-thou. How about the water bills for the bath you want to go take? If it wasn't for my 'schemes' paying for repairs around here, the dojo would have collapsed at least a year ago, if not sooner."

Akane begin once again to simmer in fury. "Most of the damage around here only happens because you keep taking advantage of all those damned idiots and getting them to come around at all hours of the day! If it weren't for your constant meddling, we wouldn't need the money you bring in! That's why this is your responsibility!"

The middle Tendo was on a roll now, smiling slightly as she sensed her victory sealed in this verbal duel. "Please, Akane. Just accept the way I operate, because there is no other way that we're going to get the money to fix it. What do you think I'm going to do, sell myself on the corner to strangers?"

If Akane sensed her contradictory wishes, she pretended not to. "I don't care. Not in the slightest. If you have to sell your soul to a devil for it, then you can JUST GO TO HELL FOR ALL I CARE!" Akane slapped her sister across the face hard enough to knock her off her feet and leave her slightly dazed. While Nabiki recovered she made her escape, stepping over the prone form casually and heading down the stairs, swiftly but softly.

After a few moments Nabiki regained her wits and her footing, dusting herself off absently. "Resorting to violence, how typical," she mentally noted. "Well, better go and try to diffuse the situation with Ranma too, before I get both of them after me. At least Ranma will most likely just run off instead of hitting me."

* * *

Ranma sat by the pond, staring deeply at nothing in particular as she racked her brain for any solution to the fiancée dilemma that didn't involve destroying his honor and whatever honor his family still held. This was not the first time she had spent time in deep thought, contrary to popular belief, but unfortunately it was ending up wit only the same two answers: suicide, or to simply continue waiting around until only one was left. 

She just couldn't bring himself to choose one, for several reasons, all of which no one seemed to understand but her. The conflicting engagements meant that, technically, she had to marry all of them. That being illegal, and really far too much for even her to juggle, any other solution broke her honor twice over. If she abandoned honor and picked one the other two would either kill her, her chosen, or both, unless she stopped them permanently. Running away would only prolong the game and frustrate everyone involved, as her father's poor example had shown.

Suicide worked for solving her problems, in a twisted sort of way, and would allow all the girls a chance to find love elsewhere, after they got over her, of course. Unfortunately, this would also destroy her family without a doubt, leaving the Saotome line and art no heirs to carry on. With her dead, she had no doubt that his mother and father would never speak again, assuming they didn't choose to follow her. For that matter, any one of the fiancée's might even choose death as well in the situation, creating one final pointless competition: a race to get the first shot at Saotome Ranma in the next life.

The other solution, which she was employing with great difficulty so far, had several drawbacks as well. The greatest problem was that the waiting game could conceivably last for years, or even decades. Was her honor really worth stealing away that much of her fiancée's time on earth? The waiting was hurting all of them a little more each day, and it was what was probably behind the constant escalation of threats and plots from his admirers and rivals. Could Ranma keep this up long enough? Would one or more of them die before it got resolved, possibly taking along bystanders? Ukyo had already spent ten years on him, shampoo was bound by law to continue the pursuit, and Akane would likely continue indefinitely, if only to never admit defeat.

Her reverie was cut short as she sensed a presence coming up behind her, slowly and cautiously. Ranma continued to stare motionless into the pool until this guest was almost on top of her before calling out a clear and hard "What do ya want, Nabiki?"

"Um, I wanted to" A confident tone, after a short throat clearing noise, became little more than a whisper. "A... ahem, apologize for what happened."

Without turning away from the pool, Ranma continued the discussion. "Why? What did you do?" Before Nabiki could open her mouth to respond, Ranma added, "Oh, I'm pretty sure what you did, in one way or another, but I want to hear you say it."

"I am responsible, indirectly, for all the damage that has occurred today. Although I did not give invitations to any of your rivals or fiancée's, I did make it convenient for them to overhear the information, for a price, of course. I," Nabiki's voice grew softer suddenly, as if she were close to tears. "I didn't think anything near this bad would happen. Please, Ranma, at least turn and look at me."

Ranma obliged her slowly, looking at her backlit outline directly where her eyes should be without comment for a moment, before answering her plea. "I think I can forgive you," she stated, "But only if you tell me why you did it. Was it just for some money or something, Nabiki?"

"No, not really. I just took the opportunity that the situation presented. I..." she paused for a moment, regaining her strength, "I found out about Dad's plan before you woke up, and I figured I'd give you a welcome back present by taking care of this one for you, on the house."

"I believe you, Nabiki. I'm not sure why, but I do. Apology accepted." The shadowy form sighed, a sound full of relief, before Ranma continued her questioning. "Nabiki, what made you think we needed your help? No matter what they do to set us up, a simple no at the right time would still stop everything. Do you really think for one minute that this wedding would have gone off if I wanted to stop it?"

"At first, I really didn't think it was a problem, but then I talked to Akane." Nabiki crouched down and put a hand on his arm in a gesture of honesty and concern that surprised her. "Ranma, you need to talk to my sister, and soon, before she does something truly stupid. She loves you, Ranma. She was willing to go through with the wedding."

"Yeah" she snorted, "She felt guilty about me saving her, more like it, and got blackmailed into it by your dad." Ranma tried to smirk but the expression didn't quite reach his eyes. His tone returned to a more somber state.

"Nabiki, I don't love her, at least not like that. I can't. Believe me, I tried to, but it just isn't possible. She can't possibly love me, either, no matter what you or she thinks. She's got no faith in me whatsoever and always jumps to the worst possible conclusion every time something involves me. How could any marriage work like that? Aren't relationships supposed to be built on trust?" With a sideways glance at the sky and a frustrated sigh she concluded, "I want to be her friend, Nabiki, but that's it. Too bad that isn't what's being forced on me."

Nabiki sat in silence, stunned by this new information. Ranma watched her, slightly amused despite his overall foul mood, as her eyes roamed randomly in the air, as if she were trying to reorganize her model of the whole world. Just before she reached the level of an uncontrollable chuckle, Nabiki refocused. "So then, which one do you prefer? If you don't mind me asking..."

Ranma stiffened for a moment in response, as if preparing herself silently for a battle. He silently turned his head, surveying the area for possible eavesdroppers before answering. "None. I'd like to call of them friends, but that's it, and for pretty much the same reason. I think they all have themselves convinced they love me, but in reality they're only competing to win me, as if I were some kinda damn prize, not a person."

"You could always run away, Ranma. Nobody could stop you if you really wanted to go," She replied.

With a grumbling sigh, Ranma turned back to the pond. "Why doesn't anybody seem to understand this but me? I can't just run away like some honorless coward, like Pop would. Even if I did do you think that Ukyo and Shampoo wouldn't keep looking? Same reason I can't just pick one and get it over with; Honor. It always comes back to honor."

Nabiki pressed on. "Is your honor or even your family's honor worth this much suffering? This situation is hurting everyone involved, not just you. The longer you wait, the worse it's going to get."

Ranma turned back and looked her in the eye in response. "Yes. The only things in this world that I can truly claim are my honor and the Art. To lose one is to destroy half my soul, Nabiki." Ranma broke the contact, choosing instead to watch her hands attempt to enumerate her problems.

"The situation is much bigger than that though, bigger than just me making up my mind and sticking to a decision. It's not just my honor on the line here. What's left of my family's honor is on the line. If I don't choose Akane, you, or Kasumi then your family will lose face as well, and Pop will probably lose his only friend. How can I ever repay Ukyo for the hell Pop and me have caused her if I don't go with her? Unless I choose Shampoo she'll be exiled from her people and branded a failure. At least Kodachi isn't tied to me yet, despite her trying everything she can to get her honor involved."

Ranma kept plunging forward, spilling all the complications of his daily existence in one bitter tirade. "There are considerations that go beyond just the fiancée situation, too. Ryoga's honor is tied to me, and I have to atone for something I did to him; though I won't explain what so don't bother asking. I'm kinda indebted to Cologne for all her help and training, despite the trouble she causes me. At least she had the good sense to stay out of it today."

Ranma threw up her arms violently, seeming to almost surrender to the crushing weight of her obligations. "Heck, I probably don't even know all the people who have claims to me! Who knows how many other fiancées' that pop set up I've got waiting out there, still trying to track me down? How many other rivals are out there with affronts to their honor and challenge matches waiting for me? I've almost given up hope of ever getting free of the effects of Pop's stupidity. No matter what I do, lots of people end up getting hurt."

"I never actually sat down and thought about it like that, Ranma." Nabiki was obviously shocked at just how much thought he had put into this. "Maybe you aren't as dumb as I thought."

"Yeah, well, welcome to my life." Ranma said with a smirk.

She joined him in a grin, but Nabiki's slight smile quickly faded. "And on top of all that, I, I had to go and cause you more trouble today. God, Ranma, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She spoke the last few words quietly, her voice wavering. Ranma stood up from the pond and walked toward her in silence. "Don't worry about it. I said I forgive you already."

"But what if no one else does? What if I can't forgive myself? This is too much, Ranma. I really crossed the line here." Nabiki seemed simultaneously flustered and on the verge of collapse, vainly holding her mask of ice against the oncoming flood of guilty tears. She quickly reached up to her face again, intending to wipe away the renegade drop of liquid, but Ranma beat her to it and gently flicked it away with one hand.

As the redhead's hand brushed Nabiki's face she winced away from the touch, as if it caused her pain. Confused, Ranma simply stood nearby as Nabiki regained control over her emotions. "Come on, don't cry... you know I don't know how to deal with that kinda stuff."

* * *

For the second time tonight she had been completely caught off guard by someone's reaction. "He's trying to comfort me! Me, the ice queen, the one who just ruined his day and got him pulverized. How can he be so caring?" Nabiki as expecting some reaction, but when he reached up to gently wipe away her false tears away she was shocked. As Ranma's hand brushed against the bruised flesh of her cheek she was snapped out of her reverie and reflexively pulled away, immediately cursing her reaction. 

"Come on, don't cry... you know I don't know how to deal with that kinda stuff." Ranma's tender, if clumsy, words seemed to melt her for a moment, and despite herself she just had to collapse into the smaller girl's offered embrace. She was surprised to find that Ranma respond not with a quiet strength as she expected, but with a grunt of pain and a slight stumble backwards.

She looked at the redhead before her, as if for the first time tonight, and suddenly remembered the disheveled condition that she had presented during her procession through the living room. Before her, Ranma stood with clenched teeth, her weight almost all on one foot, clutching at the opposite shoulder. The tables being officially turned, she helped Ranma back to a seat on the large, smooth, rain-polished rocks.

"Geez, Ranma, what the hell happened to you?" She asked eying the results of her well-intended interference.

"What didn't happen to me?" Ranma replied curtly, before her expression softened again with a sigh. "I wouldn't even know where to begin, unless you want it narrowed down to just tonight."

"Well, I suppose that is what I was asking. I couldn't see what was going on very well from the door, collecting gifts and greeting guests," she replied before wishing that she had chosen a response that didn't bring his attention back to her own part in the fiasco.

"I guess it started when Pops and your dad knocked me out, then after I woke up and had an argument with Akane, I came downstairs only to be greeted with all my other fiancées and to have several exploding things tossed in my face. Then I got into a fight with Pop, Ryoga, and Mousse over the nannichuan..."

"So dad didn't even let you use it, huh?" she said sadly, poking Ranma lightly in the breast, who she was surprised to find didn't flinch. "He said that he wouldn't give it to you until after the wedding, even though it was clearly addressed to you."

"What? It was mine the whole time and he kept it from me?" Ranma's fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles audibly grated on one another, until suddenly she stopped and simply sagged. "Ah, what's the use? Beating on your dad won't bring the water back. I guess it's really over... I'll be like this forever." Ranma hefted her breasts to emphasize the point, her voice trailing off as she looked at herself. "Forever only half a man."

"Come on, Ranma, cheer up! So you missed out on another chance, what else is new? Hey, it could be worse, right? At least there's always more water where that came from..." Nabiki pleaded, not entirely convincing even herself of the sincerity of her words, until she noticed Ranma tighten up again at her mention of more water.

"That, that's just it, Nabiki. There is no more. While I was fighting Saffron we kinda destroyed the source of Jusenkyo's water, this big mountain with two magical water taps, and ended up flooding all the springs. That was probably the very last of it."

Ranma sat very quietly for a moment, and finally Nabiki couldn't take the oppressive feeling that settled over the scene. "Wait," she interjected suddenly, "You destroyed a mountain? Sure, Ranma, tell me another one. You're good, but nobody's that powerful."

Nabiki's slight mocking chuckle died as the red head turned her humorless steel-blue eyes towards her. "It wouldn't be the first time. Remember about four and a half months ago when I got stuck in my cursed form?" Nabiki could only nod in response. "Remember all the reports about a small volcanic eruption in the northern islands that the scientists couldn't explain, about the same time?" Ranma simply sat in silence, staring at her.

"No way..." she heard her own voice whisper, uncalled. "That, that isn't possible, Ranma. I refuse to believe that a person could destroy a mountain without the aid of something like a nuclear bomb, and even then I'm skeptical."

Ranma replied indignantly, with almost acidic tone. "Oh, and people randomly changing sex several times a day is ok by you? How about if the other person fighting was a dragon, or a god? Believe it then?"

Nabiki responded with less strength in her voice this time. "Well, you're 'curse' is most likely some kind of unknown water-bound microscopic parasite, but a dragon and a god? Get real, Ranma. Seriously, I'm not buying it, even with your money."

"Saffron had wings, four of them, and could fly. He threw around fireballs bigger than a car and intense enough to melt solid stone without any real effort. I cut off his wings and they grew back before he even started to fall. When I finally killed him, tore him to little scraps of burning meat smaller then a hundred yen coin, he was reborn as an infant, hatching from an egg less than five minutes later. If someone like that wants to call themselves a god, I'm not going to argue."

With Ranma's confident words came a simple and unimaginably blunt shock. "Gods?" she wondered silently. "There really are gods?" Ok, curses she could explain. To accept that the world really has superhuman entities in it like dragons and gods, however would push her view of reality seriously out of whack. At first all she could do was marvel at the description of the foe, but soon resolved herself that the 'god' in question must just be some guy who found powerful curse in Jusenkyo like that Rouge girl that stayed at the dojo a while back.

Okay, so the immortality thing and the ultra-fast regeneration was kind of difficult to explain away, but the fireballs could be just a stronger version of Ranma's own 'great tiger...' or whatever attack. Besides, if she accepted that Gods were real, wouldn't that mean that Demons were real, too? With a slight nervous shudder of doubt, starting in the pit of her stomach, a startling question arose about Ranma.

"You, killed him, Ranma?" She spoke hesitantly, looking at her shoes as they swayed in the rain soaked grass, watching the moisture collect the ambient light from the house and release it as a million tiny sparkles. Unsure of her own words, she pressed on. "If you killed a god... what does that make you?"

"A murderer, I guess." She could almost taste the self-loathing that accompanied that answer.

"But you said he was reborn! If he's still alive, then it's not like you really killed him, is it Ranma?" she offered quickly.

"No, Nabiki, he's dead and I killed him." He sighed and looked sideways to face her. "I asked his advisors before we left. They said that his powers and some of his memories always come back, but the details are lost, his personality is usually quite different. His body is alive, but I killed him all the same...and the worst part is I'd do it again without hesitation."

Nabiki was prepared to offer an excuse, a rationalization that would ease Ranma's lingering sense of guilt, but her nose had other ideas. As she opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly sneezed violently. Before she could speak again, Ranma was already on her feet and helping her up. "Come on, we been out here in the rain long enough. Lets get back in before you get sick."

Nabiki's thoughts were still set to sarcasm, but his words were beginning to change her viewpoint. "Sure, Ranma, sure, a convenient excuse to avoid any ore 'unmanly' emotional talk, more likely. Amazing, really, to think that anyone could have the willpower to stay so controlled under that kind of pressure from every conceivable angle. Still, the guilt from something like this must be really eating at him. It would probably be good to try and get him to open up a little more. If nothing else, it could give me any easy way to blackmail... No! Damn it Nabiki, don't let yourself start thinking like that. I will not take any more advantage of Ranma then I absolutely have to, he's got too much hanging over him as it is."

* * *

Doing her level best to keep from limping any more in front of Nabiki, Ranma was met at the threshold with a kettle of heated water and a warm, fluffy towel. She took both with a nod from the eldest Tendo Daughter, whose smile was thin and strained. Returning to his natural form, he handed the kettle to Kasumi, and shuffled into the house. At first he headed towards the kitchen for a snack, but after Stifling a sneeze he abruptly halted and turned back to the girls. "Think I'll hit the bath first, if no one's using it" he remarked. 

Nabiki, face still wrapped in a towel while drying of her hair, offered a muffled warning. "Akane was heading that way earlier, right before I came outside. Make sure you knock, Ranma. Like I said, she's angry."

"Thanks, Nabiki. Make sure you get to bed early so you don't get sick, ok?" After waiting for a towel to offer a vague sense of a nod, he wandered past Soun's room to the outer door of the changing room. After several knocks, and no answer, he entered, stripped, and entered the furo proper.

Greeted with the sight of a sleeping, very naked Akane, and amazingly enough, floating, he immediately backpedaled and slipped on the tile, overturning a wash bucket, and landing solidly on the back of her head with a resounding, excruciating crack.

* * *

A sudden noise brought Akane back to wakefulness. Her unexpected shift in balance was enough to ruin her first victory over water and woke her up very quickly, sputtering as water entered her nose. 

"Ptuu, hah, wheez... what the? Ranma?"

"Ugh... what?" came a very weak reply from the naked form on the floor clutching its head.

"RANMA!"

"What? Damn it tomboy, don't yell, my head is killing me."

"Get the hell out of here, you damned pervert! Why don't you ever learn to knock?" She punctuated her question with a sharp kick to the ribs, sending the naked, heavily bruised, burnt, and cut girl sliding across the tile, leaving a slight trickle of blood from her most recent wound on the back of her head.

Clutching at the pain, keeping her eyes firmly closed, Ranma replied through clenched teeth "I did. Three times. You were asleep. When I came in and found you, I slipped and fell on my head. Now please, just get dressed and get out while I keep my eyes closed. I won't see or touch anything."

"Of all the nerve!" her mind raged. "To walk in on her, naked, and expect me to leave! Especially after he had obviously just returned from a tryst with one of the hussies that he had his arms around when I last saw him, hours ago." With a resounding cry of "pervert!" She booted the smaller, unresisting girl through the door and out into the hall, where she struck the wall heavily and slid to the floor, remaining motionless.

Suddenly, her anger finally given a sufficient release, Akane realized just what she had done, and to who. Had the wedding gone off as she had hopped, she would be right now looking forward to that same 'pervert' looking at her naked body, and much more to be sure. Yet, she still couldn't bring herself to stop and check on the small fetal ball of red hair and pale skin, out of an inborn sense of righteousness and a sour hint of guilt.

Contenting herself with the justifications of a punishment for ruining the wedding, obviously all his fault, and for running off afterwards, not that she actually looked for him, and walked back to her room with her head held high and her nakedness blissfully forgotten.

* * *

"Really, Nabiki, you should not have been out in the rain like that. You'll get sick." Kasumi scolded lightly, taking the now soggy towel back from her sister as they entered the kitchen. She dropped it numbly when she saw what it had hidden from Ranma's view. She responded in a most un-Kasumi-like fashion by yelling a frantic "What happened to you?" 

Nabiki mentally sighed at her recent injury's notice. "Well, at least Ranma didn't notice yet. Great, what story do I go with now? The fake waterworks won't work on sis; she's too perceptive on stuff like this. Just the truth, I guess."

"Well," she began to explain, "Akane was really upset when I told her about the dojo, but I think she was still upset from earlier.

"Akane hit you? My, it seems that I will have to talk to her about her temper again. It simply wouldn't do for her to end up... well, in any trouble."

Nabiki continued to hold out doubts, especially considering the number of talks that had gone completely unheeded by her younger sister. "Just leave it alone, sis, really. I kind of deserved it, I suppose, after what happened."

"But I thought you said that wasn't your fault, Nabiki. At least, that is what you told father. You weren't lying earlier, were you Sister?" The look she attached to the question was not a very pleasant one, and made Nabiki almost want to curl up into herself at her slip up.

"Great, one talk with Ranma and I apparently catch his 'foot-in-mouth' disease," Nabiki berated herself silently.

"I wasn't lying exactly... more like not mentioning other contributory factors. I may have been somewhat... careless with my selection of location for informing the guests." she admitted while making herself a cup of hot coco. "I guess I sort-of sabotaged the wedding, but I only wanted to keep Dad from forcing Ranma and Akane to get married, as a sort of welcome home present."

"Are you sure, Sister, that you were not really trying to keep Ranma available? For someone else, perhaps?"

Nabiki was momentarily shocked by the question, and flashes of her dream from that morning made her pause in her answer. She milled it around in her brain for a moment, summing up her conclusions under her breath with, "It couldn't be, could it?"

Any need for a response was cut off by the sudden shout "Pervert!" followed immediately by a crash and soon after by a wet, steaming mad, and very naked Akane parade past the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Well Sis, from the sound at least he didn't go through the wall again." And I even reminded him to knock... well, knowing Akane, that may not have even mattered at this point.

Kasumi did not look happy at all. Without comment she retrieved a bucket and mop from the closet and walked off down the hall, her final comments trailing after her. "That bruise is going to be black tomorrow. Be sure to ice that, Nabiki, to at least keep the swelling down."

"Well, that was convenient" Nabiki started to say, before cutting herself off shamefully. Ranma had probably just gotten himself hurt again, and all she could do was sit here and be glad that it helped avoid a tricky question. "Guess I ought to do something nice for him..."

While she was filling up one of the well-used icepacks, inspiration struck. "Hey, he'll probably be hungry when he's done with a bat, seeing as how he missed supper. I'll just warm up some leftovers for him and set them out for him." With a pleasant smile Nabiki quickly raided the fridge, gathering enough food for three normal people or one Saotome, and began reheating it.

* * *

"Ranma-kun, are you... goodness!" 

The petite girl in question, currently rolled up in a ball on the floor, could only moan a half-conscious greeting to the eldest Tendo daughter. "Ughh." Before she was fully awake, she found herself drawn up off the floor and carried into the furo room. Kasumi sat the semi-conscious guest on a stool and shoved a bar of soap into her hands.

"Come now, Ranma, I can't have you bleeding all over the floor. Now just get cleaned up, take a bath, and go to bed. Don't forget, you have school tomorrow now that you're back." Informed Kasumi impatiently, continuing her lecture while beginning to clean the floor stains.

"Damn it, what the hell did I do to deserve that from Akane?" Ranma puzzled silently.

"Uh, thanks Kasumi, but could you leave, please? I don't think I could change back and take a bath with you in here. I'll take care of the mess when I'm done, I suppose," the red-head suggested.

Kasumi paused in her scrubbing, and stood to face the bruised, naked, and slightly shivering girl. With a sigh, she relented, leaving the bucket, mop, and scrubbing sponge on the floor. "Do hurry, then, Ranma. These stains will be much harder to get up if you let them set into the grout." She turned to leave, but was stopped by another question.

"By the way, did I miss dinner? I'm starving," asked Ranma as her stomach rumbled in agreement. Kasumi didn't move from the door, but turned back to face her guest.

"Yes, we ate what we could salvage from the wedding earlier." She answered. After a slight pause and a glance off into space she added, "Where do you run off to, by the way? Akane was very upset, and is convinced that you ran off with either Ukyo of Shampoo." Something in Kasumi's speech, or perhaps missing from her earlier smile, left Ranma with the distinct feeling that Kasumi was disappointed in her... or upset?

"Just doing some thinking, at least until the dojo decided to fall on me," she answered slightly bitterly. Kasumi's eyes closed tightly at the mention of the dojo, but she quickly stood back up strait, maintaining her role as the pillar of the family.

"Do you think you should to talk with her when you finish, Ranma?" She suggested, without any hint of a question. "She was sure you left with one of the other girls, trying to avoid the wedding. She was so upset that she yelled at the rest of the family, in front of all the guests. She said some very unkind and rude things, and I fear we may have irredeemably lost face in the community over this matter."

Ranma adopted her classic apologetic pose, with one hand raised to the base of her neck, wincing as she touched the point of impact. "I don't think I'm up for another argument tonight, Kasumi," she replied, as was strongly suggested by the continuing pounding sensation in her head. "I'll skip practice with Pops tomorrow morning and talk to her before school, I promise."

"Very well," she answered, her tone leaving no doubt that everything was not well in her opinion. "But don't put it off too long, and don't treat this lightly. The dojo meant far more to this family than you realize, Ranma." She heard the outer door close with more force than necessary.

"Scary," Ranma shivered, speaking to herself quietly, "even Kasumi's kinda pissed about this. Well, better get to it." With quick movements far from her usual level of efficiency, Ranma finished off the part of the bath he hated, the re-soak cold-water rinse. Sitting on the stool, she took a moment to survey the damage in an almost clinically detached manner. Bruises and light burns were completely ignored as she went through her checklist, due to a constant presence or as long as she really could remember, though not usually this extensive.

Head: Recent mild concussion, slight bleeding.

Torso: Two ribs fractured by Saffron, healing at usual rate, but aggravated by Akane and explosives.

Arms: Right shoulder has a long, fairly shallow cut from a katana slash. It should not require stitches, yet.

Legs: Left ankle badly twisted. Possible tear or sprain, may require medical attention.

After an all-too-brief soak, Ranma quickly scrubbed up his blood from the tile floor, and got dressed. He hobbled downstairs to the kitchen, intending to finally silence his impatient stomach with a few leftovers. He was surprised to find a large bowl of rice, pickles, and beef strips set at his place at the table, still steaming, next to a bowl of soup, a large glass of water, and a note. He sat down to enjoy the unexpected meal, but first investigated the mysterious writing.

"I thought I told you to knock, Ranma-kun." A quick sketch of a smirking Nabiki followed the text.

He wasn't sure whether he should be annoyed at the reminder, or thankful for the food, so he just gave up and ate in silence. "Too quiet, guess I'm the last one up," He silently noted. No sooner did he comment on the quiet then he heard the first faint sounds of an inebriated duet coming up the walkway.

As he finished his meal the front door opened, and in staggered a drunken panda and an equally drunk and crying Soun, leaning heavily on each other. They seamed to sober instantly upon seeing him, backs stiffening and throwing him angry glares. Ranma responded with an icy glare that almost surpassed the dreaded 'demon-head' technique for intimidation.

Mr. Tendo turned away abruptly, and walked toward his room without comment, but with a few wobbles. Genma responded with a sign, appearing from wherever the hell it was he kept them, that read, "Rest well tonight, boy. Tomorrow morning we will have a conversation with you and your proper fiancée." The panda turned it around revealing, "This matter will be resolved, and soon. It is a matter of honor; your feelings on the subject have no weight." Before he could fashion a reply, the panda dropped the sign on the table stiffly, and lumbered up the stairs.

Ranma finished his meal quickly, rinsed off his bowls and glass, and limped up to his room. The panda lay on its futon, its back to the door. "Pop, what's going on now?" he demanded. The panda ignored him, so gruffly he undressed and got into his futon. "This is all your fault, old man," he continued to complain, though more to himself then to the obviously unconscious bear. "All my problems come back to you and your stupid training. All you talk about is honor, but with a father like you how can this family have any honor at all?"

Ranma rolled around a bit, searching for a position that didn't hurt one of his injuries. At length, he just gave up the fruitless search and drifted off to a much-needed sleep.

**

* * *

Author's notes: **

Akane's point of view is labeled by the pound sign, at the suggestion of Freak247, AKA Brian #3 (apparently there are lots of us).

Anyway...

Way back in August of 2001 I posted the first version of this story, up until part 6, at which time I realized that I had made a big error in the plot, most notably, going WAY overboard on one scene. For those of you who don't remember, I won't ruin it by discussing it here, but suffice it to say that it was highly unbelievable, even given the set up I offered a few chapters back.

Also, at the same time, I had a new idea that I felt would make for a much better story, so I decided to just stop for a while and get the whole thing sorted out and back on track. Well, being a double major in English and Philosophy, the semester for me very quickly evolved into one huge chunk of reading, leaving me no time to write anything of my own.

Christmas break, however, has come and gone, and I have finally found the time to get this story back on track with a major rewrite. I can't promise that the updates will be regular, but the whole thing is just sitting in my brain waiting to sneak out, so I can say without a doubt it will one day be finished.

Eventually.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	2. Friction in the Machine: Act 2, pt 1

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
**A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 2: Friction in the Machine  
**Part 1

**Pre-readers:  
**TonyLoco  
Freak247  
Ray Devore  
Goddess Esteria

* * *

In a dark, threatening bramble, at a roughshod crossroads of scarcely traveled dirt paths, stood Saotome Ranma. What bits of sky that could be seen through the dark canopy were cold and gray, giving promise to an approaching storm with deep, rolling waves of thunder and the tangy smell of ozone and distant rain. Examining each trail as they disappeared into the dense forest and lingering fog, and finding them identical, he soon forgot which path had lead him to this place.

"Where the hell am I now?" he suddenly shouted at whim while punching an ancient tree into splinters. If he was going to be in Ryoga's position, he decided, he might as well act the part. Lightning crackled overhead now, prompting him to push his mind harder in an effort to determine the correct path. As he thought, the rain began to fall lightly.

From the shadowy depths of the woods came noises, not unlike far-off speech, drifting on the increasing breeze from all directions. The voices grew in pitch as the storm began to intensify, until he could recognize them as belonging to her many fiancées, rivals, and family members. Some were loud and filled with rage, others deep and sorrowful choked out between sobs, and yet more pleading for or demanding his attentions. None of them, however, sounded friendly or welcoming. Ranma turned slowly in a circle as the ground turned to thick mud, awaiting an ambush at any second. Still the storm grew, now stinging in intensity.

Finally, he could take no more, nearly driven to madness as the voices drilled into his conscious mind. With a desperate scream, he released as much chi as he could muster, driving back the encroaching shadows in the blinding flash of energy. While the tormenting shadows were held at bay he dashed down a trail that was previously unnoticed. Instinctively she knew that this was the correct path, her path, and the path that the others could not follow.

The rain disappeared at once, and he ran freely and joyously as a child, growing younger with each reckless step. Ranma, now at the age of six, fell suddenly into a darkened pit in the trail. From the darkness came noises, part hiss and part growl, all circling his shuddering form. He knew what lay beyond his vision, for he could smell the hate, the raw malice these evil beings exuded from their shadowy haunts.

Suddenly the shadows melted into an endless sea of fur, claw, and glowing eyes, all directed at the cowering child. He cringed in a ball, covering his face with his arms and kicking fruitlessly at the oncoming tide, to no avail. The terror gripped him then, as it had twelve years ago, and as it had nearly every since. This dream wasn't new to him, and he knew it was a dream, but somehow the fear paralyzed him in a helpless state, tortured again and again by his memories. He cried out in desperate pain, first to his father, then his mother, and finally to anyone at all. He expected no answer, as none had ever come before. This time, however, was different.

A thin hand, more bone than flesh, took hold of his arm and lifted him back into the blessed light of day, far from the horrors of the pit. He shivered uncontrollably for several minutes, but as the fear left him, his age was returned to normal. When the last of the terror had subsided, he looked up to his mysterious benefactor, this intruder to his familiar nightmare, and noted the stale smell of decay in the air.

Across the trail, leaning in a very relaxed posture against a large elm, was a man. His feet, if indeed they were feet, seemed somehow out of focus, blurred into the darkness of his long flowing robe. The robe was of the finest silk, blowing gently against his form despite the eerie stillness of the air. The color of it was indiscernible; constantly shifting in the indirect light through dark, bold blues, mysterious greens, and cold, milky grays. The robe parted to reveal a gaunt chest, roped in stringy masses of muscle and tendon of incredible density, all cloaked in pale, ashen skin. The man's arms seemed almost too long, with joints far too small to accommodate the tensed muscles that crossed it, ending in delicate fingers with blackened nails that wrapped unconcernedly in his thick, unkempt hair. The tangled black mane gave way to a face that was beautiful despite its pallid, corpse-like flesh and disconcerting androgynous symmetry. A sharp chin, thin lips, and rather feminine nose lead his eyes to the awful core of the man, his nearly hollowed sockets lit dimly by threatening orbs of crimson flame.

Ranma recoiled from the sight, and the man offered an understanding smile. He covered his face gracefully with crossed arms, and then quickly retracted them to his side to reveal a changed face. Ranma wasn't sure if this were an improvement, actually, as the face he now looked into was his own. In the back of his mind stirred an ancient, nameless fear, beyond the cat-fist in intensity, but allowing no comfortable refuge in blissful insanity. Only one option remained, so Ranma ran as he had never run before.

He heard no pursuing footsteps, but from behind him came a distant voice, whispering "Ranma..." on the stale air. He ignored it, and continued his desperate run. "Ranma, its time..." the voice called again, closer and more direct, but still he ran through the murky limbs.

"No! Leave me in peace!" He cried franticly, struggling with a stray tree branch that seemed to have arrested his flight on purpose.

"Ranma!" the voice cried out repeatedly, "Ranma!" He struggled with all the strength he had, but the limb held him securely as his double loomed ever closer.

* * *

"Ranma, you jerk! Get up!"

Perhaps Akane's shouts hadn't yet awakened Ranma, but Nabiki had been affected. She knew it was hopeless, but she tried to go back to sleep despite the overwhelming odds that it wasn't going to happen. "Five more minutes, that's all I ask..." she pleaded with whatever deity might listen.

"Gah! Cold!"

"Well, Ranma's up," Nabiki thought wryly. The metallic clunk of a now empty bucket dropped onto a hardwood floor confirmed her suspicions.

From outside came a splash, then a gruff shout. "You were completely open, boy!" Please, no. I've gotten so used to fight-free mornings this last week... "I'd have thought after what happened in china you would have improved at least a little. Time to renew your..."

"Moko Takabisha!"

Even through closed eyes, she could see the flash of bright orange energy as it filtered through her blinds. She opened her eyes just in time to watch her exterior wall visibly shake with an impact of flesh and a loud, meaty whump. Abandoning the concept of sleep yet again, Nabiki brushed aside her warm covers while rubbing her eyes. She staggered in her sapphire blue satin pajamas to the window, opened the blinds, and peeked out at this morning's scene.

Genma, oddly still human, lay crumpled in a heap directly beneath her room. She noted with amusement the slight trails of smoke wisping from his inert form. Standing by the pond was Ranma, topless, wringing out her black tank top with an angry scowl.

"Well, that was quick," She deadpanned as her eyes adjusted to the light. Usually Ranma wouldn't use her special techniques in sparing, probably just to keep some level of challenge in it. Still, she was probably in a bad mood lingering from yesterday, and was obviously somewhat worse for ware, so the change was somewhat understandable. It's going to be an interesting day for bets if Kuno shows again.

Nabiki quickly gathered a pair of seamless black panties and matching bra, lace-frilled white socks, the required school uniform, and her basket of bath supplies. She marched tiredly downstairs and into the Furo before anyone else claimed it. After a refreshingly cold rinse and a very brief soak in the furo, the middle Tendo absently dressed and followed her daily schedule to the mirror to brush her hair and apply a hint of makeup.

She frowned heavily at the sight that greeted her. A large black and yellow bruise roughly in the shape of her younger sister's palm marred her left cheek. After unsuccessful attempts with both powder and foundation cream to mask the blemish, Nabiki simply accepted that today she would have to deal with a bit more damage control than she had hopped. She applied her usual lilac eye shadow, coated her lashes, and added a light coating of lip-gloss. Finally, she left the changing room and headed in the direction of the kitchen towards an argument already in progress.

* * *

Ranma made her way to the porch doors, dragging her father along the ground by one arm. She pulled him up the stairs, allowing a satisfied grin to emerge as she listened to the hollow thunks behind her as his head made contact with each board. At the top she dropped his arm, leaving Genma laying half on the deck and half on the stairs. The petite girl retrieved one of his many pairs of black tie pants, a royal blue shirt, and a clean pair of boxer shorts. She marched back up to her room to change into the dry clothing and to gather her school supplies. Heading downstairs only half dressed, she finished fastening the wooden ties and rolling up the shirt's sleeves as she walked towards the kitchen to regain her manhood.

"Ranma." She quickly turned in search of the voice, and was somewhat surprised to find Kasumi facing her with only a slight trace of her usual smile. "I thought you said you would skip your sparing today. You promised me. I expected better of you, Ranma." Kasumi demonished, turning to set the table.

Ranma tilted her head slightly, and gazed at the older girl confusedly. With her eyebrows set at different angles, she asked, "Huh? But I didn't spar with pop; I just knocked him cold and came inside. What do you mean?" Kasumi's voice was still soft and airy, but the usual pleasant quality was lost somehow.

She began to reach toward the small bronze kettle that sat, as usual, on the stove. She was surprised and further confused when the eldest Tendo daughter stepped between her and the kettle, meeting Ranma's gaze with unblinking brown eyes. "You broke your promise to me. I clearly heard you and your father shouting, followed by a loud thump from the walls."

"Oh, but that wasn't sparring, Kasumi. Pop tried to spar with me, but I just blasted him with a Moko Takabisha. He smacked into the wall and was out like a light." He thought that had explained everything, but she still bore into him with questioning eyes. "Uh, if it were really sparring I'd have held back on him, and just worked on my basic skills. I don't get anything out of it otherwise, cause he ain't even a challenge" ...unless something distracts me or he uses that stupid cradle technique, he amended mentally.

"Well, it certainly sounded like sparring to me, Ranma, regardless of how you choose to narrowly define the term. Even more distressing is the fact that you used the house as a weapon in your match. I would think that after destroying the dojo you might have learned to be a bit more careful of damaging our property." Her voice was growing slightly tight and accusatory.

Quickly tiring of this blaming, Ranma decided to take action. Her hands darted out, reaching quickly around the taller girl to the kettle. She tossed it in a quick flick of her wrist to spin over Kasumi's head before retrieving her hand for gestures. "Come on, Kasumi, the house is perfectly fine. It's not like I smashed him against it repeatedly, I just sorta made him fall into it. Besides, how is it my fault if Akane halfway drowns me in a bucket from a sound sleep and then Pop tosses me out the window? I ended it quick, at least." she replied loudly as she effortlessly plucked the rapidly spinning kettle from the air above her head and tipped it over her head.

"You could have woken up early and told him you had other obligations, Ranma." she answered, staring into his eyes. "You made a promise last night, but it seems your word doesn't mean as much to you as I thought. Don't you think that if you were to stop acting like a spoiled child and take some responsibility for your faults, perhaps things would begin to run smoother for you?"

"What are you talking about, Sis? What did this idiot do now?" Ranma turned away form the glare of Kasumi to find that the aforementioned bucket-girl was standing in the doorway, looking ready to hit him already. "Oh man, this is gonna be a long day," he sighed.

"I'm just discussing a point of honor with Ranma here, Akane. We seem to have a bit of a disagreement." Kasumi's smile returned, but her eyes remained somewhat hard.

"Well, big surprise there, Kasumi. Why you would possibly talk to Ranma of all people about honor is beyond me. Might as well get Mr. Saotome's opinion while you're at it, for all the good it will do you. They haven't the slightest notion of what honor is about." Akane finished her barb with a superior smirk, turning away from him towards the family room.

"Excuse me?" Akane turned around at the sharp tone of Ranma's voice. "Exactly where do either of you get off questioning my honor? Have you already forgotten that the only reason you're still in this world is because I saved you a couple of days ago, Akane?"

"What? What happened while you were gone? I hope it wasn't too dangerous." Kasumi's question went unheard as Akane replied.

"Oh, and I see that you seem to have forgotten that the only reason I was in danger at all was because I saved your life. You should be glad that you aren't bird food right now! Besides, I was only in China at all because of you and your stupid little adventure."

"Please, I could have escaped from that stuff easy with a couple of chi blasts before it hardened." The fires were burning in Ranma's eyes now as the argument grew to an outright shouting match. "And how is it my fault you got kidnapped again? It's not like I suggested it to Saffron! Geez, for all your 'I'm a martial artist too!' whining you'd think that just once you could handle things without..."

"Starting early today?" asked Nabiki as she entered the room. "You usually wait until after breakfast to start fighting." Ranma glanced in her direction, but his words quickly died in his throat.

"Ranma, look at me when I'm yelling at you! Akane grabbed his head and redirected his gaze to her, but he absently slipped out of her grasp and stepped around her.

Ranma walked up to Nabiki as she lowered her face and turned her bruised cheek away from his scrutiny. With one hand beneath her chin, he gently raised her head and turned her face aside. "What happened, Nabiki? Who did this to you?" he asked, lightly tracing his index finger around the edge of the bruised flesh to judge its outline, careful not to hurt her.

"What did I just say to you? What, Do I have to beat a little common courtesy into you?" Akane threatened loudly.

Ranma turned to find Akane barreling towards him with her right fist pulled back to deliver a powerful blow. Nabiki, standing directly behind him, covered her face with her arms as Akane swung, but the blow never landed. As Akane's swing neared it's primary target, Ranma ducked slightly and twisted to the left avoiding the punch and hooked Akane's arm at the elbow with his own bent limb. Now with a bit of leverage, he pivoted at the waist to trip her over his extended left leg, using her own trapped right arm to pin her to the floor face down.

"I thought it was against your honor to hit a girl, you hypocrite!" spat Akane from her awkward position on the floor. She struggled to rise but Ranma held her down by shifting more of his weight onto Akane's right arm, now pinned behind her back.

Nabiki and Kasumi watched, frozen by the actions before them, as Ranma asked, "Akane, have you finally lost it completely? That swing would have connected with Nabiki if I hadn't stopped you! Some martial artist you are, taking a wild swing at an innocent bystander. Great sense of control you got there, Akane."

"Stop this at once!" Soun commanded, pulling Ranma away from Akane by the arm. "Go take a seat, both of you, and eat your breakfast. I don't know how this started, and quite frankly, I don't care. This sort of behavior will not be tolerated in my home!"

* * *

Grudgingly, Akane took her usual seat next to Ranma and ate her morning rice and pickles in silence, brooding in anger. He, he actually stopped me! Then he insulted me again! That jerk! She did her best to avoid looking at him throughout the meal, ignoring the slight warmth she felt where her elbow lightly touched his.

The meal was uneventful until Genma woke up and staggered to the table. Approximately eight seconds later he made a reach for his son's food, and found himself tossed into the pond with an improvised variation on Happosai's pipe trick. Wisely, at least in Akane's opinion, he decided to stay outside for a bit. Nabiki, as usual, left for school immediately after a light helping of breakfast.

Akane sat in silence as Kasumi cleared the table, until Soun cleared his throat loudly. He began to speak in a dominant tone once all eyes were on him. "Yesterday's fiasco has proven without a doubt that the other girls will not give up easily. Well, for that reason, the wedding ceremony will be held off a bit longer, until your personal affairs can be sorted out..."

"That mostly applies to you," she scowled in Ranma's direction as Soun paused to take a drag off his cigarette.

"Sure, blame Ranma, that's what everybody around here does. Well I say it was just as much your fault. Doesn't matter if it's true, obviously, since most of the stuff I get blamed for I'm not even involved in." Ranma pounded his fist into the table with a vehemence that Akane had never seen in him before. For the first time in a long while, she felt a little scared of him. "There isn't going to be a wedding, damn it! Why don't you get it? I. Don't. Love. Her." Soun suddenly seemed quite pale.

Ranma paused for a while as the room stood silent. After a moment, he stood up from the table with a tired sigh, grabbed his backpack from the floor behind him, and walked out of the room. Without turning she pointed an accusing finger to the back yard and asked, "By the way, why are 'these girls' my problem to deal with? It's all Pop's fault they're after me. If you've got a problem with the situation, Tendo, take it up with your friend, not me. I'm tired of it."

Suddenly Genma, still in panda form, shot into the house and blocked Ranma's path. He Produced a large wooden sign and held it before him, occasionally flipping it around to reveal more text that simply wouldn't fit on just one side. "It doesn't matter how you feel, idiot boy! It's a matter of honor, and you will fulfill it! The girls are your problem because it's you they're after, regardless of the fault. Act like a man for once, accept responsibility, and apologize to Soun immediately for your disrespectful tone!" His attempt to drive home the lesson by hitting him with the sign was blocked with just a raised index finger and followed by a solid left to the diaphragm that floored the obtuse panda.

Akane sat brooding during the brief exchange between the Saotomes, only half paying attention. His latest denial of love echoed, painfully, in her mind. It was a lie! He was just going to far this morning with the usual denials, and if she didn't intercede, he just might blow the whole thing. "That's bull and you know it, Ranma. You do lo... care for me. Just admit it, I heard you at Jusendo! Your father is right for once, you aren't acting like a man."

Ranma didn't reply immediately, but the room went silent. He walked until he reached the door, then in a quiet voice said, "I don't have time for this crap. I want to see the school nurse before class, and I'll be late if I don't leave right now." He quickly slipped on his street shoes and opened the door.

"Don't walk away from me, Ranma! This discussion isn't over!" Her father's command went unheeded by Ranma as he left the house. "How dare he treat me in such a way, in my own home no less! Genma! Get up and get that ungrateful son of yours!" For a few moments, Akane sat stunned into silence, watching the scene around her unfold as if it were on TV and not right in front of her.

At once Akane was on her feet, her bag in hand. She ran past her father arguing loudly with a panda, put on her shoes, and rushed out the door. "Ranma, wait up! I need to talk to you!" she called as he came into view two blocks down the street. She was surprised to catch up so quickly, until she realized that Ranma wasn't running on the fence as usual. In fact, he wasn't on the fence or running, just walking along the sidewalk at a pace that was downright slow for him.

"Just leave me alone, Akane," he sighed as she caught up. "I'm in no mood to talk."

Undaunted, Akane resumed her questioning. "You didn't mean that, did you? You just didn't want to cave in to our parents, right?" she pleaded with a slight smile, dreading the answer.

He looked at her sideways with an unreadable expression, but didn't answer. Instead, he turned away and just kept walking at this relatively snail-like pace.

Eventually Akane gave up on the topic for now, curious as to the reason for this unusual, for Ranma at least, mode of travel. "Ranma, why aren't you on the fence like normal?"

"Well, I'm still a bit sore from last night," he began to explain.

Ding Ding!

A familiar Amazon bounced off of Ranma's head from behind with her rear tire, barreling him to the ground. Apparently without even noticing Akane's presence, she went right to a glomping of legendary proportions. She sat giggling in his lap while pressing his face securely between her breasts in some sort of improvised Amazon chokehold, giggling all the while. "Airen leave violent girl, come marry Shampoo now, yes?"

"Wait a sec," Akane asked, "sore from last night!" She burst into a fury of righteous vengeance as she put two and two together and got eighteen. "You incredible bastard! I can't believe you ran out on me at the altar to screw around with your Chinese whore! I'll kill you!" She grabbed the nearest heavy object, which happened to be Shampoo's bike, and swung away. Shampoo saw it coming, and jumped free of her airen before the blow connected. Both girls watched as Ranma sailed off into the sky toward the school.

"Good distance, Shampoo impressed. Must get back to work now, though." Without further incident, the Amazon snatched her slightly dented bike back from Akane's grasp and peddled off.

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet!" Akane shouted, but didn't bother to give chase to the rapidly fading cloud of dust. With an angry growl she continued towards the school, with only stray pebbles and the occasional concrete wall to satiate her rage, all the while ignoring the little voice in her head that said she was being an idiot. Of course, taking the time to systematically destroy every solid object she came across slowed her down immensely on her walk.

* * *

"Nabiki! What..."

She raised her hands to silence the crowd that seemed to instantly materialize around her as she neared the door. "Look, don't worry about it

people, it looks much worse than it is. I don't want to talk about it. Oh, and before anyone asks... No, we will not be refunding any of your gift money unless you were injured in the blast. Consider it a cover charge for the floorshow. That's all I have to say about it, so I'll thank you to mind your own business."

The crowd disbursed with a collective grumble, allowing her to enter the school. As she took off her shoes in the entry hall, a voice came up beside her. "So boss, what kind of bets do you want to offer today? Just the usual time till knockout and method of attack charts?" Nabiki turned to regard her assistant, Setsuko, a mousy freshman with hazel eyes behind wire-framed glasses and long chestnut hair tied with a bright purple bow.

As she put on her blue school slippers she replied, "Good question. Hmmm... Ranma is trying to hide a limp, so he'll probably end it quick today, with something simple. Go ahead and skew the payout ratios toward the longer times and the uppercut or jump kick." She pondered the situation carefully for a moment, before adding, "Hell, just for fun let's put the 'Kuno gets a hit in' bet on the board today. Shake them up a bit and see who bites."

"Whatever you say." Setsuko called over her shoulder as she ran off to get the portable wet erase board from its storage space in the supply closet.

The betting went as normal, fairly spread across the offered time ranges, with only Gosunkugi Hikaru taking up the offer of the optional bet. Now all they had left to do was await Ranma's eventual arrival.

* * *

"Ah, tis a glorious morn on which to meet once more my fated foe. With golden wings of day lightly kissing my face, and the sweet sent of valorous deeds on the wind, surely the heavens portend my long awaited victory." Kuno Tatewaki was quite pleased with the words he had prepared the night before, although no one else seemed to pay him any mind.

"What does it take to impress these uncultured wretches?" He silently wondered. "No matter, when Saotome is fallen my glory shall be revealed again to all. Hmm, where is the coward, anyway? I'm usually unco... resting by now. Wait, up in the sky, is that..."

"...Stupid tom...Gah!" A thundering sound rang across the courtyard as the object struck the clock tower, just above the second story windows. It slipped bonelessly from the solidly built impediment to fall to the ground with a heavy thud. When the dust cleared, it was obvious that the meteoric object was none other than Saotome Ranma.

"Oh well, guess it had to be him. Would have been cool if it was a spy satellite or something, you know, unusual for once though." a somewhat dejected freshman commented. The majority of the crowd seemed to agree.

Upperclassman Kuno was of a slightly different opinion. "So, the vile Saotome reveals his black arts with his obvious disregard for the laws of Heaven! Man was not meant for flight, foul sorcerer, as you no doubt have learned from your truly pathetic landing. As I have warned you, the vengeance of heaven is slow but sure! Prepare yourself, miscreant, for the moment of your undoing! Today you face the undefeated Blue Thunder of Furinkan high!" With the inexplicable accompanying sound of thunder rolling across the clear sky, the verbose young warrior charged the slowly rising Ranma.

"Kuno, I am not in the mood for this crap. Back off before I really hurt you." Ranma threatened, his voice low but clear. He dodged several strikes without regaining his feet, simply by leaning his torso about in seemingly impossible ways. Kuno attempted a powerful overhand strike as Ranma rolled along the wall to his feet. Ranma tried to sidestep and pivot around the kendoist, but the sudden stress on his wounded ankle caused him to falter. He grunted in pain as he fell onto his back, allowing Kuno's blow to land solidly on his previously injured shoulder.

"Damn it, Kuno, don't say I didn't warn you..." Ranma grabbed the bokken, still pressed against his shoulder, with his right hand and pulled Kuno towards him. With his free left hand, he pummeled the older boy, not bothering to announce his use of the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken as he delivered roughly 500 vicious blows to his opponent's head and chest. Tatewaki Kuno was thrown into almost three meters back and fell heavily to the ground, broken, battered, and very much unco... resting.

**

* * *

Kuonji Ukyo was still a block from Furinkan High School when out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement. Glancing in the direction of the sky, she beheld the sight of her Ranchan flying in a parabolic arc until he collided with the school building. She broke into a flat run in her required boy's uniform, arriving just in time to see Kuno and Ranma's final exchange. As she approached Ranma spat towards his fallen foe, "Deny that victory, oh Blunt Wonder, I dare you."**

She reached his side swiftly, offering a helping arm lift, but Ranma shook off her grasp. Confused and concerned at his reaction she pleaded, "Ranchan, honey, you don't look so good. Let me help you." She tried again, unsuccessfully, to grab his arm.

"And just whose fault is it I'm hurt, Ukyo? I seem to have injured myself yesterday somehow. Maybe it had something to do with those bombs thrown at me." He intoned while leaning heavily on the school wall. She flinched at the response, quickly stepping back from him.

"But I didn't mean to hit you, honest. I only wanted to save you from Akane." she whimpered, unable to meet his gaze. "I just..."

"You just assumed you know what's best for me, just treated me like a damn trophy like the other girls. Look, we need to talk about this Ukyo, but not today. I'm not thinking clearly yet. How about tomorrow, at your place, after school?"

"I guess." She was absolutely crushed by his words, but mostly by his use of her proper name instead of the familiar 'Ucchan' she had come to love.

Ranma stumbled slightly while bending over to retrieve his book bag, and though she caught him he gruffly shook off her hands. "I don't need your help, Ukyo. Just worry about getting yourself to class on time and leave me alone." He turned his back on her and hoped away on one foot toward the nurse's office.

She sagged, leaning on the wall for support as she began to tear up. A sudden friendly hand on her shoulder made her jerk at the unexpected contact. "Don't worry about it too much, Kuonji, he's just had a rough week. Give him some space and it'll pass." She turned to identify the familiar voice.

"Nabiki? Wow, what happened to you?" the sight of Nabiki's injured face momentarily pushed aside her feelings of loss with concern.

"Guess you missed out on my earlier speech, eh? Well, since you're bound to hear it from somebody else eventually... A little while after the wedding the dojo collapsed, probably due to the rain loosening the ground around the weakened supports. Ranma came in and told us, and I went to tell Akane. She didn't take it too well, and blamed me for passing out invitations to the trouble makers, you included." Ukyo had to cringe when her guilt in the whole affair was stated so bluntly. "After a bit of an argument, she gave me this."

"Nabiki, I'm so sorry. I never meant to cause that much damage, but..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still, building a new dojo costs a lot of money, and as I see it you owe us a share of that cash, which estimates to about 100,000." Nabiki stated with a no-nonsense glare.

"I don't have that kind of cash available!" One look at the accusing glare from Nabiki, amplified by the presence of the large bruise, quickly changed her tune though. "All my money is tied up in the restaurant, but I guess I could borrow that much from my dad. I really didn't want to have to talk to him again until this matter with Ranma was settled, though. Could I maybe pay it off in free food, instead?"

"Food would make a lousy building material for a dojo. I suppose we could always just sue you..."

"Don't have much of a choice, do I? I could probably get a loan to cover it if I could space the payments out a bit." It'll be tight, but I can probably make that work. Just gotta think of it as a challenge, like I do about...Ranma.

"Hey, what's with the sour look? I just gave you a break, and those aren't common from me. I'm not charging you for a share in the wasted food, the decorations, or the public humiliation of my family." Nabiki stated with her hands on her hips.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something." Ukyo replied evasively.

"You still worried about Ranma? Look, I have it on good faith that you are just as much in the running with him as Akane and Shampoo." Nabiki offered.

"Really? But he seemed so angry... and he wouldn't let me check on him." Something about Nabiki's statement still nagged at her and wouldn't let her accept that information at face value, especially since she didn't have to pay for it.

"Okay, look, I've gotta drag this moron to the nurse because I can't let him get out of his part of that sum by dying. While I'm there, I'll make sure he's ok for you, all right? Free of charge, even."

Deciding that the offer seemed genuine enough, she relented. "Thank you Nabiki, I've got to run... Hey, won't you be late?" she asked, pausing halfway to the stairs.

"Yeah, but I got special permission from my homeroom teacher to be late whenever Kuno gets his butt kicked and needs to be dragged off. Someone has to do it, and as long as I can charge him for it every day it might as well be me."

"Okay, um, see you later." Ukyo waved as she ran up the stairs.

* * *

"One down, four to go." Nabiki mentally remarked as she started the next phase of her usual morning routine: drag Kuno and charge him for it. As she began the morning ritual, a thought floated through her mind that brought out an immediate scowl. Crap, with Gosunkugi's lucky bet I probably lost money today. "Ranma just had to do exactly the opposite of what I predicted. No, I can't blame him. It's not like he intentionally let himself get hurt.

She entered the nurses' office in time to hear the last bits of conversation from the next room, "...more fighting for at least a week or you could damage it permanently."

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen. I'll just tell the next maniac who tries to kill me that you suggested he come back next week. I'm sure that will go over real well."

"Well, try your best to avoid it then. You could always let that fiancée of yours handle the challengers for a little while..."

"Are you nuts! She'd get creamed for sure! Besides, Akane is the one most likely to hit me of all."

Nabiki felt the need to jump in at this moment. "I'm sure we can convince her otherwise, Ranma-kun. Oh, hey Ms. Tatsuboshi," she added, dropping Tatewaki's arm, "guess who needs you again."

The nurse nodded in her direction. "That boy again! I swear if his father wasn't the principle he'd have been expelled by now with all this fighting. I'm not sure why you're still here though, Saotome."

"Because I don't start the fights, I just end them." Ranma answered matter-of-factly. "Geez, Nabiki, did you have to bring him in here with me? I just got done dealing with him once already, and now I'm not allowed to properly defend myself."

"Ugh, what place is this?" Kuno asked, reviving with perfect timing.

"Guess, Kuno-baby." Replied Nabiki, passing a small glass of water over his prone form to Ranma. With a scowl, he complied, using the offered escape method. Following the movement with his eyes, the Blue Thunder made a miraculous recovery. He leapt to his feet and was soon holding Ranma's hand between both of his. "Pig-tailed girl! What has happened to you to require medical attention?"

Ranma held in her obvious annoyance, removing her hand from Kuno's grasp. "I was assaulted by an idiot swordsman, sempai! Please, won't you find him and punish him for me?"

Tatewaki stood and struck a noble pose before her. "You needn't ask my love! Tell me of the fiend, and I will dispatch him for your honor forthwith!"

"He was tall, with poofy black hair, wore a blue kimono and a black hakamma." Ranma described, offering up a pair of enormous, wet eyes and pouting lips to finish the sell.

Nabiki wasn't sure if she should applaud the performance or laugh at the scene, so she just watched quietly with a hand over her mouth.

"Have no fear, I will track this devil to the ends of the earth, never resting until he has suffered sufficiently for your pain." Kuno dashed out the door in a random direction, soon disappearing out of sight.

Nabiki finally allowed herself to burst out into laughter, and was joined by the clapping of the nurse.

"Well, perhaps you just found your solution to staying out of trouble this week, Ranma," the nurse said, handing him a padded steel crutch.

"I only wish it were that simple. Kuno's the only one I know that would fall for something that stupid." Ranma scowled as he found his balance with his right foot and the crutch, keeping his bandage wrapped left foot off the ground. "Well, maybe Ryoga too, but that still leaves a lot of problems."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Mrs. Tatsuboshi replied confidently. "Do you feel well enough to stay at school today?"

"Yeah, I guess. Missed all of last week, so I ought to stick it out, I guess. I'll need a pass for being late, though." He sighed. "Just hope she doesn't drain me before I get a chance to give it to her."

"Here you go, and good luck." She handed over the note with a smile.

"Crap, I forgot to give Kuno his bill." Nabiki suddenly realized. "Oh well, I'll just mail it to the estate, postage due of course. Come on Ranma, Time to go back to class."

* * *

As Ranma approached the class, he noticed Akane and Ukyo standing by the door, with buckets in hand. They seemed to be doing their level best to ignore one another, with faces turned in opposite directions, standing side by side. Akane stared right at him during his approach, glaring but refraining from any further commentary. Somewhat annoyed by the silent treatment, Ranma instead addressed Ukyo, who had yet to notice his approach. "Hey Ukyo, you get in late or something?" he asked.

"Oh, hey Ranchan. Yeah, didn't quite make it in time. When we complained she drained us and tossed us out, and said we had to hold the buckets as soon as we were able." Her eyes roamed downward momentarily, but stopped at the crutch under his arm. "How's the ankle?"

"Stupid Kuno..." he grumbled, "Mrs. Tatsuboshi says I tore something, should be fine in a week or so." If I could just get away from all this crap I could probably heal it in 40 hours, tops. Yeah, right, like I'll ever get a chance to just rest.

"Kuno? You let Kuno get a hit in?" Akane burst out laughing, her eyes never leaving his, in a very cold, hurtful tone. "And you question my martial arts? That's a laugh."

Ranma bristled at the comment, tightening his fists. He gave Akane an icy glare, then continued to the door. "I don't have the time to waste with you, Akane. I'm late enough as it is. Excuse me." He hopped to the door, ignoring her anger.

As soon as he opened the door, Ranma was met with a dismissive command. "Why are you so late? Oh, who cares. Just go back to the hall, Ranma. I'll deal with you later." Ms. Hinako waved her hand at him absently, still in her adult form from her earlier draining.

"Huh? But I got a note..." he complained.

"Hall, Buckets, Now!" she yelled with her left hand on her hip, with a right index finger now pointed directly behind him.

Ranma crossed the room in two short bounds and slammed the note on her desk. "Here, I've got a note from Mrs. Tatsuboshi. I was attacked by Kuno today, and he actually got a decent hit in. That's why I'm late."

She took a moment to scan the note, her anger fading away quickly along with her adulthood. "Well then have a seat. We're well into third period, now. Oh, you wouldn't happen to have your make-up work for last week done, would you?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

"No, sensei." The class gasped as he hopped to his desk, holding a crutch under his arm. As soon as he sat down, Ukyo broke out into an angry yell outside the door. With a groan, he let his head hit his desktop. "Please, make it stop."

Hinako taught on, apparently not noticing the obvious yelling from the hall. The class, however, soon divided its attention between listening to the fight and staring accusingly at Ranma. Brown-haired Yuka was the first to voice the common thought, "Ranma, what did you do now?" Sayuri glared at him from beneath her raven bangs, standing next to her friend.

Tiredly he looked up from his forehead striking. "Perhaps you didn't notice, but I'm in here too. How exactly did you two decide that whatever they're fighting about out there is my fault?" He now noticed that the rest of the class now firmly eying him as well. Except, that is, for Gosunkugi, who seemed to be lost in a state of maniacal giggling for no apparent reason.

Sayuri answered this time, counting her points off on her fingers. "Duh, Ranma, like you don't know. Everything around here is your fault, somehow. It's like a law of nature or something. A new kid shows up, and they're always out either to kill or marry you. A new school policy is enacted about every month so principle Kuno can try to cut your hair. A perverted gnome runs into the girls' showers, and like magic, you show up right after it. It's so obvious."

Hiroshi spoke up as well, brushing his light brown hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, like that Jiro kid said this morning when you smacked into the clock tower, it would be nice if something would happen around here that wasn't related to you for once."

Daisuke prepared to back up his pal. "Yeah, Ranma, you steal all the hot chicks around here! Be a good friend and share the wealth!" Well, maybe he didn't back up any of the comments, but he spoke at least.

Ranma just looked at his peers, their faces crowding around him awaiting a response, and decided that now would be a good time to leave. A heavy impact against the wall seconded the motion. "On second thought, I guess I will go to the hall. Someone has to keep them from killing each other." He stood up again, but Miss Hinako, coming back from a lecture on cotton candy to the reality around her, objected.

"No, you won't. You haven't done anything bad yet so you have to stay. Sit back down." She gave him a stern pout, but it ended up looking closer to cute than threatening.

"Well, are you planning on going out to stop them any time soon?" he continued hopping toward the door.

"Out where to stop who from doing what?" Her face was a complete blank.

"Never mind." He muttered as he reached for the buckets. "Is insubordination a good enough reason for you?" Ranma grimaced as the weight

of the bucket pulled at his shoulder, so he shifted both buckets to his left hand.

"Delinquent! Leaving class without permission is against the rules!" She whipped out a coin as he opened the door.

**

* * *

Ukyo leaned heavily against the wall with a sigh as Ranma went back into class. He really didn't look so good, and he must be really out of it to just blow off Akane like that. She wasn't entirely sure if he was angry or rather just really tired.**

Akane interrupted her thoughts with an offhand comment. "If you hadn't been in my way, I wouldn't have been late, you know."

Ukyo turned to look at her partner in punishment, who was still not looking back. "Well, if you had left earlier then you wouldn't have been late to begin with, whether I was in your way or not."

"I couldn't. That jerk Ranma caused all kinds of trouble this morning with our parents, and I had to wait too." Akane was facing her now, at least.

"Is that why you felt the need to throw him into the clock tower?" seeing no reaction, she continued. "He's hurt, you know. Really hurt. The crutch wasn't a gag."

Akane turned away with a huff. "Well, that's a good start, but not good enough. For what that bastard did, he deserves a hell of a lot more pain than just that."

"What are you all grumpy about?" she asked, "It's not like the wedding disaster was his idea, you know."

"No, I'm not mad about that right now. He did something far worse. You'll probably want to kill him too when you find out, Ukyo." She offered a meaningful glance at the taller girl.

Ukyo was curious now. "What then? You're not blaming your dojo falling down on him, are you? That was Happosai's fault, if anything."

"I wish it was just that. No, that bastard had the audacity to run off after the wedding."

"So? I wouldn't want to hang around after that mess, either. He probably just went up to the roof to think like he always does."

Akane paused for a moment before answering. "He went to Shampoo. This morning he admitted that they slept together."

Ukyo bounced off the wall, battle aura set to full blaze. "You lying bitch, no way my Ranchan did that! You take that back!" the wall panels of the class sprang open, revealing several curious faces that looked once at the glowing, spatula-swinging girl, then turned their attention to Akane.

"Is that true? No way!" commented someone from the crowd.

Ukyo suddenly leapt away from the buckets and readied her battle spatula for a fight. "You take what you said about Ranma back or I'll beat it out of you!"

"You can try, Ukyo, you can try. Looks like I'll get a chance to pay you back for those exploding okonomiyaki's you tossed at me yesterday" said Akane as she solidly planted her feet and brought her clenched fists up in response.

Ukyo charged in with a vicious upward swing of her spatula, but Akane rolled underneath it and quickly sidestepped the sharp downwards strike that followed. Still off balance from her second swing, Ukyo was left open for a kick at her kidneys from the side. She turned into the blow to lessen its impact and batted Akane into the classroom wall with a backhanded swing.

Ukyo rolled back to her feet after absorbing the strike, placing her weapon before her defensively as she reached for her bandolier. "Where the hell did you get such a crazy idea, anyway?" she asked, readying a handful of her smaller projectiles.

Akane shook her head slightly to clear it as she kicked back to her feet. Noting the throwing weapons she took up a low stance perpendicular to her foe, offering Ukyo as slim a profile for her throwing weapons as possible. "From his own mouth, on the way to school" she replied as she inched forward.

Ukyo tossed a volley of spatulas at Akane, who charged, weaving between the darts to throw an elbow lunge. Ukyo parried the blow and pushed back, shoving Akane slightly off balance as she brought the handle around towards Akane's gut.

To her surprise, Akane took the blow with a grunt, trapped the handle under her arm, and tried to pull her off balance. Ukyo yielded possession of her spatula, but responded with a crouching spin kick to the back of her opponent's knee.

Akane attempted to kick back to her feet, but Ukyo was faster and pinned her to the floor by stepping on the stolen weapon, lying across Akane's chest. She took advantage of the situation to argue, "That isn't possible. I was fighting with Shampoo after the whole thing fell apart, for at least an hour. We ended up in the park, I think. I don't remember exactly what happened because Konatsu knocked us out with sleeping darts. If the length of time I slept was any indication, then there's no way that could have happened."

Akane responded in kind, "Ranma said this morning on the way to class that he was sore from the night before, and something bout being 'inside'. Then Shampoo showed up saying that they would be getting married soon. They did this all right in front of me, just to brag about it!"

While Ukyo paused to digest Akane's statement, the fallen girl grabbed the offending foot and twisted it. Ukyo was forced to hop backwards to retain her balance, and Akane took the opportunity to regain her footing and to toss the stolen weapon behind her, out of reach.

Sensing her disadvantage, Ukyo quickly tossed a small spatula at Akane's face as a distraction, as she charged. Her offence faltered, however, as she dove for cover to avoid a chi-draining attack from the classroom door.

"You delinquent!" Miss Hinako shouted in a whiny, high voice from the door. Ranma, who stood just to the side of the open door, turned and glared at her as his aura to burst forth like an oil rig explosion, rolling menacingly with flickering shades of dark and bright reds, thinly outlined in an inky black.

"Happo Five Yen Satsu!" Hinako cried angrily, this time hitting her target squarely as Ranma didn't even budge. His aura flared in response rather than waning, and as the instructor continued her attempt to drain him Ranma stood defiantly, with his still growing aura raging around him.

"It can't be! How could you counter my technique? How could anyone have so much chi?" Hinako faltered, and her form began to change back to her child body. A wave of red and black rolling energy seeped from her skin and rejoined with Ranma as she cried out in pain, then collapsed bonelessly into unconsciousness.

Looking back and forth between the fallen teacher, pale and thin in her child form, Ranma, standing on one leg amidst a ring of searing floor tiles as his aura faded away, and Akane, who looked on with open-mounted disbelief, Ukyo wisely decided to stop fighting. "How did you do that, Ranchan?"

* * *

Ranma looked down on his hands wide eyed at Ukyo's question. "I wish I knew..." he thought before shaking off the question. "Anybody gonna tell me what this is about, or do I have to guess?" He asked tiredly, looking up from his unclenched hands.

"Oh like you don't know, Ranma. You even admitted that you screwed her right in front of me!" she screamed at him. The panels of the classroom burst open behind him and Ukyo, revealing a crowd of very curious faces.

"You and Ukyo finally did the nasty?" asked Hiroshi excitedly, gesturing obscenely with both hands.

"No way, if he was banging anyone it was Kodachi for sure. That girl's gotta be a freak in the sack!" commented Daisuke dreamily, slightly drooling. Sayuri and Yuka bashed both idiots over the head with synchronized scowls and very thick chemistry textbooks.

"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't, well, done that, with anybody!" He replied, turning somewhat red. Whether it was more from anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. The crowds' reaction was mixed, including snickering, gaping jaws, and the occasional disappointed frown.

"This morning, walking to school, you said you were sore from the night before, and that's why you weren't walking on the fence! Then shampoo showed up talking about marriage, and instead of fighting her off you stuck your face between her breasts!" the crowd looked back to Ranma, wide eyed, waiting for his response.

"Of course I was sore! Who wouldn't be after a dojo collapsed on them?" Ranma asked rhetorically, throwing his arms in the air. "And how would you know if I was fighting her off? You were too busy smacking me in the head with a bicycle to pay any attention."

Almost as one, the class groaned, realizing that this was simply the product of another one of Akane's wild leaps of logic. Undaunted by the audience, she pushed on. "The dojo fell on you? So you were the one that knocked it over! I should have known."

"All I did was wake up, look around, and lean on one of the posts when my ankle started bothering me. Thanks ever so much for bringing me out of the rain, by the way. Maybe next time you get knocked out I'll just leave you where you fall, so you can see how it feels to be forgotten," he threatened.

Akane opened her mouth to respond, but stalled for a comment. She stood before him in silence, closing her gaping mouth slowly as her eyes wandered off in thought. Just by watching her face, it was easy enough for everyone to guess her thoughts. Her brows knitted as she desperately searched for a reason to stay angry, a way to keep from having to apologize for what she now knew was the blunder of her life. Her hands clenched as part of her mind, a very familiar part, screamed, "Hit him!" but somehow she instinctively knew that that would be the worst possible reaction. Her hands relaxed, but still her gaze was averted.

The class watched, completely enthralled, as for the first time in recorded history Tendo Akane seemed to be actually thinking about her response to a situation rather than just attacking it. It was almost anticlimactic when the truth finally pushed it's way into her world. With a small voice, she finally offered, "I'm sorry."

All eyes turned instantly to Ranma, and were further shocked by his response. "Who are you apologizing to, Akane? Me, for hitting me with the bike and jumping to conclusions? Or is it to Ukyo, for fighting with her for no good reason? Heck, maybe you'll even surprise me and say it's to Nabiki, for hitting her hard enough to bruise her face to the bone."

"I, I don't know. I'm just sorry..." Akane reached up to touch Ranma's shoulder, but he winced and flicked her hand away. "I'm sorry." Tears were beginning to drift down her cheeks.

"Yes, you are." The coldness in his voice was blunt and cruel, but something in his eyes hardened and glimmered. Akane's reaction was to run off to the girls' room, followed soon after by Yuka and Sayuri.

For over a minute no one dared to speak, until Ukyo commented, "Ranma, your shoulder looks pretty bad. Are you okay?" He brought his free hand up absently to feel it, and was surprised to find a growing stain on his shirt and blood on his fingertips when he pulled away.

"Crap, I must have ripped open that cut Kuno gave me yesterday. Well, that's it, I'm calling it a day." He walked back into class and grabbed his book bag. Turning to Hinako, who was sitting up slowly from the ground, he explained "Mrs. Tatsuboshi said I could go home for the day if I wanted because of my injury, and I think I just changed my mind about staying." Ranma quickly turned and hoped out of the room on one foot, still ignoring the crutch under his arm.

* * *

Nabiki ate her lunch at her usual table outside, surrounded by her aids as they set about tallying up the financial business of the day. As one of her assistants came to sit before her, she asked in a friendly tone, "So, Setsuko, what's happened so far today?"

"You haven't heard! The rumor mills have gone absolutely wild about Ranma and your sister!"

"Well, that's nothing new." She answered curtly, waiting for something she could actually use.

"Um, Akane and Ukyo got into a fight, to start with." offered Setsuko, reading from her notes.

Nabiki leaned forward. "Interesting. What about? Who won?"

"Well... it seems that Akane insinuated that Ranma had sex with one of his other fiancées, and Ukyo took exception. Reports vary on just which fiancée it was, though. They were shouting about it in the hall, so loud that I could almost make out what they said from my class three doors down, over Mr. Onoda!" She flipped to another page in her notes quickly, "The fight was unconcluded because Ranma stepped in."

"What? But he was hurt... Why didn't Miss Hinako do it?" Nabiki set aside her bento, curiosity piqued.

Setsuko continued, excitedly. "That's where things get really interesting. She tried to use her draining-thingy, but Ranma beat her somehow and drained her instead! He was glowing in really scary colors, and she just collapsed after a few seconds.

"Well, that's interesting, but not overly useful. How did he stop the fight?"

Setsuko seemed to redden slightly as she continued. "Turns out it doesn't matter which fiancée Akane accused him of sleeping with, because he's a virgin!"

"What! No way that's true. Even Ranma must have been with someone by now, considering the sheer amount of women that throw themselves at him," Nabiki replied, dismissing the thought with a gesture. "If not here in Nerima, then some time while he was on the road."

The freshman defended her report, "Well, that's what I heard. Apparently he said it himself, and I believe it because Toshiro Mika said that he was all embarrassed right after he said it."

"Huh. Well, I'd have lost that bet," Nabiki commented as an aside. Some insidious part of her mind perked up at the thought of helping him lose something in return, but she quickly squelched that line of thought.

"There's a lot more, too." Setsuko continued, apparently not noticing as Nabiki was distracted for a moment. "After he convinced her that he was innocent, she actually apologized! Ranma was really mean to her though, and kept on yelling at her, asking her what she was sorry for and listing off a bunch of things, including that bruise of yours."

"He confronted Akane about hitting me? How did he know?"

"Who cares how he knew! What's important is that he made Akane run off crying." explained Gosunkugi Hikaru, walking up to the table behind Setsuko in his loose fitting uniform, though the candles not currently lit. "And you didn't even mention the burn marks he left in the floor tiles after he burst into flames. He was like some kind of hell beast! We were all glad to see him go home early today, before someone got hurt."

"He left school? Why, I mean he seemed ok to me besides the ankle injury." Nabiki asked.

"When he came back in to get his books, his shoulder was covered in blood. He just left, didn't even bother to pick up his homework." He answered with a shrug.

"Blood? Whose blood? What happened to Kuonji and my sister?"

"Ukyo left right after Ranma did, but I don't think she was following him. Your sister was crying in the bathroom last I heard. Yuka and Sayuri are looking after her."

"Great, just what else can go wrong today?" Nabiki rested her head against her folded hands, releasing a sigh. "Why are you here, anyway? I already announced there would be no refunds for the gifts."

He waved her statement aside. "Uh, no, nothing about that, I kind of expected that. I'm here to collect my, uh, winnings for this morning's fight. With the odds you offered on the 'Kuno gets a hit' bet, I believe that it comes to a total of, uh, 7000 yen."

Setsuko butted in at this point. "Hikaru, you know the rules. All winnings from the pool are paid out at lunch the next day. It takes us a bit to get everything counted up and organized, you know."

"But I need it now, or at least before school is out! There's something I've wanted to buy for a while now, and now I can finally afford it, but if I don't get to the store by four today I'll have to wait till next week!" He pleaded.

Nabiki looked up to the whining boy with a smirk. "Ok, look, for you I'll make an exception, on account of all the information you supplied. There will be an early withdrawal fee, of course, of 1000 yen."

"1000!" He was angry for a moment, but quickly it faded away as reason leaked through. "Argh, damn it, I can't wait that long. Alright, I'll take what I can get."

"Fine, I'll see you after school then," she replied, wondering just what sort of store would only be open one day a week.

* * *

Ranma dropped his school bag unceremoniously on the floor next to the door, and quickly changed out of his street shoes into his house slippers. "I'm home." He announced without any inflection. Hopping sure got tiring real fast. Still, as far as he was concerned, it beat using the crutch.

"Ranma, why are you home so early? Go back to school, you ungrateful boy!" called Genma from the family room.

He hopped into the room, eying the man as he sat with his friend on opposing sides of a go board, surrounded by multiple bottles of sake. Behind them sat the sad remains of the Tendo shrine, the various small figurines cracked and chipped, a photograph of Tendo Kimiko in a bent frame, and a few of the wall hangings from the dojo, none in good shape. "At least they had gotten the stuff out this morning," he considered, "instead of making me do it."

Soun seemed to be ignoring his presence, or at least trying to appear as if he were. Ranma didn't particularly care if Mr. Tendo was feeling sociable, and so pressed on. "Akane, Shampoo, and Kuno managed to aggravate my injuries from Saffron and the wedding. I really did a number on my ankle and shoulder this morning, so I left. The nurse said it was ok."

"What a weakling you've become lately. To think, a son of mine injured by two girls and an idiot. Pathetic, truly pathetic. Tomorrow I think I'll have to start retraining you."

"Oh really? I bet Saffron wouldn't think me weak old man, and I certainly defeated you without any effort this morning. Heck, I could take you right now, no sweat, so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself. Either that, or pick out a comfy bit of floor to spend the afternoon unconscious on."

"I just remembered, Ranma, that when you so impolitely left this morning we were discussing a promise. A promise you are honor bound to fulfill, yet for some reason continue to put off resolving it." Soun intoned gravely, with his displeasure very thinly covered. "I believe you left saying something about the wedding never happening."

"Accept your fate, boy, and stop hiding from your duty." added his father.

"My, That certainly doesn't sound very honorable to me, Ranma." chimed in Kasumi, taking a seat at her father's side with a hollow smile.

Ranma glowered at them, eyeing all three before answering. "I have tried to salvage as much of my honor as is humanly possible in this situation, despite your constant complications to the already tangled mess of my life." He pointed an accusing finger at his father, continuing, "There are too many conflicting duties of relatively equal weight resting on my shoulders for me to fulfill any of them. This is mostly the fault of my father, who has shown time and time again that to him honor is more about face than action." Turning to face the Tendos, he concluded, "I am sorry to announce that after yesterday's fiasco I see the same traits in you, Mr. Tendo.

"How dare you!" Soun was on his feet in a moment, releasing a dark red burst of energy in the shape of demonized caricature of himself. "How dare you speak in such a manner under my own roof, where you are staying as a guest!"

Ranma casually dissipated the plasmic form with a tightly controlled burst of his own energies. "Nabiki told me about the cask, about where it came from and who it was actually addressed to. That's all the information I need to question your honor, Tendo. Your deception effectively stole something invaluable and irreplaceable from me, a reward for saving the lives of two innocents, and condemned me to this half-life forever."

"It was addressed to the dojo, Ranma." Replied Kasumi with her eyes off and to the side. "Since we own the dojo, the claim could be maid that the contents were ours, to do with as we see fit."

Ranma paused for a moment before answering, amazed at the powers of rationalization that were being brought to bare. "That is a flimsy excuse and you know it, Kasumi. You all knew damn well who that water was meant for, and instead of giving me my property you had to conspire to use it against me as a way to force me to do what you wanted."

He turned around and hopped towards the stairs. "Look, this is over for now. If you want to continue it tomorrow, then I'll explain the situation in detail so that perhaps for once you will understand it as it is, not as you wish it to be. I'm tired, and injured, and going to bed. Unless you desperately want an ass kicking, I suggest you let me rest in peace."

He disappeared up the stairs, leaving three very disgruntled individuals behind.

* * *

Riiiiing!

"Finally," Akane thought as she gathered her books together with little enthusiasm, "this intolerable day was over." She had never been so embarrassed in all her life, not even when Ranma first came to town and let the news of the their engagement slip. Breaking down into tears in public, to her mind, made the former stain on her reputation pale. That surely was not the action of a strong female martial artist. She had to be stronger, had to keep her emotions from betraying any weakness.

"Akane, will you be alright?" asked Sayuri. "You can come over to my house and talk for a while if you want to, um..." she stopped for a moment, searching for a way to put this lightly. "...Give Ranma some space. I'm sure my mom won't mind if you stay for supper."

She looked at her friend for a moment, wishing that she could take her up on the offer. Deep down, though, her sense of pride wouldn't let her run from the situation. "No, thanks anyway. I'm sure that idiot has gotten his head back on straight by now, and is just waiting to forgive me."

"Yeah, right," she told herself, "I'm going to have to be the one to apologize this time." Part of her really wished that Kuno had hurt her too, if only to have avoided the whispers of her classmates when she came out of the bathroom after lunch.

The look on her friends' faces betrayed the fact that they knew this was self-deception, too. "Really, Akane, you should come with us. I was going to go over to Sayuri's house too, to... study up for the test on Wednesday. We could always use a third brain in figuring out these stupid English words."

Now that was an interesting point. She had missed the last nine days of classes, after all, and could really use the opportunity to catch up a little. Slowly, her rationalizations began to outweigh her prideful resolutions. "Ok, I'll go with you." Part of her thoughts reminded her quickly to save that last bit of pride, if only in her own mind ", Not that I want to talk any more about Ranma, of course. I just need a little help in catching up. Let me just tell my sister, and then I'll catch up with you." Her friends left, satisfied, and she finished gathering her supplies.

Soon Akane found herself trudging through the hallways, ignoring the whispers of the other students leaving for the day as she passed them. "Screw them; it's none of their business what I do or what happens between us," she rationalized. "Us... Is there an us anymore? Was there ever? Oh Ranma, what's gotten into you?"

"Um, have you got the money?" Something about Gosunkugi's voice captured her attention as she spotted her sister.

"Yeah, Yeah, I got it for you. Minus my fee, of course." Curious, Akane walked over to where some sort of transaction was taking place, careful not to give away her presence.

* * *

"Don't remind me. Come on, Nabiki, I'm in a hurry." He whined.

"Not so fast, Hikaru. What are you going to buy, anyway? Must be something interesting if the store that sells it is only open for one day. It wouldn't happen to be some magic curse to use on Ranma, would it?" Nabiki asked, playfully. Maybe she could give Ranma a little warning and help him out a bit.

"You want to know?" Hikaru smiled suddenly. It was an oddly unpleasant smile. "Well, then you'll have to pay my fee. 2000 yen, please." He held out his hand expectantly.

She looked at him as if he was a bug under her raised heel. "You know, it's getting late, Mr. Gosunkugi. If I don't leave soon I will miss something important at home, and your 1000 yen fee for my inconvenience will have been wasted."

"You can't do that! The 1000 is to get my money from you now!" he screeched.

"I said I'd make an exception for you and have the money for you after school. I never said I'd wait around forever to give it to you." She stared at him a moment, then turned to leave. Five, four, 3...

"Wait, okay, um, just 1000 yen and I'll tell you. Just enough to cancel out your fee." He offered.

She smirked, amused by how fast he had capitulated. "500." She didn't turn, but stopped walking. After a moment's hesitation from him, she took a step. "My, look at the time..."

"Okay, okay, geez... but give me the money first." He relented.

"Deal. Here you go, Hikaru. 6000 yen, as promised." She dropped the folded bunch of bills in his hand. "Now spill it."

"What about the 500 for the information?" He asked, counting it.

"Oh, did someone forget my standard 500 yen charge for trying to haggle my prices? It's well known throughout the school that my prices are final, Gosunkugi."

"But... oh, screw it. What were the questions again?" he sighed.

"The questions were; what are you going to buy, what kind of store is only open one day a week, and is that going to be paying for a magical curse or some such thing for Ranma?"

"Okay, um, for the first, powdered sap extract from a 'Dragon Rose' Secondly, none that I know of. It's open all the time, but it's inventory changes depending on when you enter the store. Lastly, no, it won't be a curse for Ranma. Bye now." He took off running.

"Damn, should have been more specific." Nabiki scowled, not bothering to demean herself by giving chase.

"So what was all that about?" asked Akane, making her presence known.

"What, are you going to hit me if I don't tell you?" asked Nabiki sarcastically.

"No." Replied Akane softly, "Um, I'm sorry Sis."

"Huh?" asked Nabiki, raising an eyebrow. "I heard you were offering apologies earlier, but I didn't expect you to actually carry through."

"Ranma obviously didn't, either," She answered under her breath. "Really though, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you."

"Well, I'm not as pissed as Ranma apparently is. I accept." At the mention of Ranma's anger, Akane's spirits sagged. "Hey Sis, look, I'm not going to lie to you; you screwed up big. It isn't the end of the world, or even the end of your chances with Ranma, though. Just give him some space."

"But, I mean, shouldn't I talk to him? He was so... cold today. He had this odd glimmer in his eye, almost as if he was enjoying seeing me in pain..."

"Oh, apologize and mean it, but then leave. Akane, you have no idea how stressed out he is right now. I talked to him last night after, well, what I just forgave you for. He was sitting in the rain, soaked to the bone, thinking crazy, desperate thoughts. If we push him too much I'm afraid he might just snap, and then somebody is going to get hurt. Just give him some time to settle down." Nabiki gave her a moment to let the advice sink in, then turned towards the street. "Come on, Akane, let's get home."

"I'm going to go to Sayuri's house for dinner tonight." Akane answered. When Nabiki offered a disappointed look, she continued. "She and Yuka are going to help me catch up on the homework I missed while I was gone." Nabiki's gaze still didn't change. "Really, it's not like I'm trying to avoid Ranma or anything!"

"Oh sis... you're just bound and determined to screw this up, aren't you?" Nabiki signed. "Are you absolutely sure that's a good idea? Don't you think that maybe you should apologize to him as soon as possible?"

"He'll be calmed down by the time I get home, and then I'll tell him. Really, it'll be no problem." She replied over her shoulder as she turned toward the Southern gate.

Nabiki walked through the Eastern gate and back to her home alone. Kicking off her shoes, she called out "I'm home." The house that greeted her was silent, not in thought but in unvoiced anger. The fathers sat in silence at the Go board, not playing but simply staring at one another with unspoken recriminations. Even Kasumi failed to greet her as she entered. Ranma was nowhere to be seen, but his shoes were still on the step in a careless pile.

She found Kasumi in the kitchen, dead to the world except for the headphones on her ears. The volume was up loud enough for Nabiki to recognize the track even over the sounds of the knife and cutting board. She was surprised to note that it was a much darker, angsty sound that Kasumi usually listened too... and a track from her newest cassette, and an import to boot! As she approached, Kasumi slipped with the knife, cutting her finger rather than the celery and muttering "Ow, Shit!"

Nabiki was shocked as Kasumi lightly swore, a habit definitely uncommon to her older sister. She quickly handed over a cloth to wipe away the blood, which Kasumi accepted with surprise. She held the cloth to her finger in a fist and reached up with her free hand to stop and remove her music. "Nabiki, when did you get home?"

"Oh, just now. Akane won't be home for dinner; she's staying with her friends." Nabiki glanced at the borrowed tape, commenting, "I thought you only liked pop and classical music. Broadening your musical tastes, sis?"

"I'm sorry to use your things without asking, Nabiki, but none of my music seemed... adequate today." She washed her finger in hot water and then applied a band-aid as she further explained. "Ranma came home early and caused quite a stir. He threatened his father, and even questioned Father's honor, all over something you told him about the cask of Nannichuan."

"He had every reason to! Dad had no business trying to force him to marry, and especially not by keeping his cure from him to use as blackmail." Kasumi frowned slightly, but Nabiki new that the point was already conceded.

"I don't want to know what he said to you, but I'd just drop it if I were you sis. Ranma is in a bad way right now, and he might do something rash if we all don't stop pushing him."

Kasumi continued reporting the events of the day. "Father was going to throw him out, but Mr. Saotome convinced him that if he were to toss Ranma out now, they may never see him again."

"Well, perhaps the panda isn't as dumb as I thought." Nabiki commented offhandedly. "If I were Ranma, I'd have left months ago. The only reason he's still here at all is because of his sense of honor."

"My, what a kidder you are." stated Kasumi with light chuckle.

"What? Why would I be kidding? There's no way I would be able to put up with as much trouble as Ranma does, honor on the line or not." Nabiki admitted.

"I'd think that if he were truly honorable he would have accepted the engagement, rather then fighting it and cavorting with those other girls." Kasumi asked directly, "Don't you?"

"Sis, those other girls are the reason that he can't just marry Akane. If he honored our engagement, then he would still lose his honor for breaking theirs."

"Goodness, what a mess. In that case, I'm surprised that Father hasn't just declared the contract broken by Mr. Saotome's other promises and dropped the whole thing." Kasumi replied with an oddly superior tone. "Ranma may be an excellent martial artist and a well-meaning boy now, but he will more than likely grow up to be just as bad as his father if not worse, and surely ruin the dojo's remaining reputation."

"Kasumi, what Ranma are you talking about?" She asked, not believing her older sister could be as contrary as her younger sister was proving to be. "He's nothing like his father, except for the sloppy speech and eating habits, and he can keep those in check when he really wants too. The only way that Ranma would ever turn out like that is if something happened to completely break his faith in others. Something like, perhaps, being tossed out of the only home he's ever known."

"My, if I didn't know better I'd suspect that my normally very perceptive sister has been blinded by her attraction to a rather unseemly young man. I certainly hope that isn't the case. It would be most improper for such an occurrence to continue, especially considering Akane's feelings." Kasumi seemed to dismiss her, turning back to her cooking.

"What in the hell is wrong with you people? Why can't you see what you're doing?" she muttered as she left the kitchen. The fathers turned to regard her, but did not respond.

Escaping the oppressive heaviness of her family, Nabiki went up to Ranma's Room to check on him. She was somewhat surprised by the faint orange glow that escaped under the door, but knocked anyway. When she received no answer, she opened the door slightly, but stopped when she saw Ranma, glowing with a faint aura as he lay still on his futon mat.

She moved to enter the room, but froze when one eye snapped open and stared into her with a baleful gaze, before softening and closing once again. She offered as explanation to the still form before her "Heard you left early today. I came to check up on you."

"I'll live. Just leave me alone so I can meditate in peace, and hopefully speed up my recovery." She nodded, despite his lack of sight at the moment, and turned to leave. As she shut the door, he softly added "Thanks, Nabiki. It's nice to know that not everyone is out to get me at the moment."

"Hey, what are friends for, Ranma-kun?" She replied pleasantly as she shut the door.

**

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Author's notes:**

There will never again be a disclaimer for this fic, nor will I repeat my commentary on the use of pronouns. I wrote them both quite clearly for the first act, and I feel that should be sufficient.

Due to the overwhelmingly negative response to my inquires about the use of recommended background music, it has been removed. I liked it, but if it serves no purpose then I won't bother to try and find any appropriate songs anymore.

And no, this is not a Sandman crossover. The similarities of the mysterious figure in Ranma's dream to Neil Gaimans' Dream of the Endless are entirely unintentional (but, in retrospect, rather oddly appropriate).

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow! **


	3. Friction in the Machine: Act 2, pt 2

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall**

**A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero**

**Act 2: Friction in the Machine  
Part 2**

"Insider" Pre-readers:

Freak247  
Thermopyle  
TonyLoco

"Outsider" Pre-readers:

Bjorn  
Buuchan  
Corwin  
Dracos  
Goddess Esteria  
Grookill  
Merc for Hire  
Pkjam  
Ray DeVore

**

* * *

**

The noonday sun shone brightly, cheerful and warm on her skin as she unwrapped her bento. She looked up at the sky idly, following a small bird with her eyes as it chirped merrily off into the nearly cloudless cerulean sky. A slight breeze shook her hair softly against her neck, tickling a bit as it passed. She closed her eyes as she lifted the first delicious slice of sweet-pickle from the tray to her mouth, savoring the taste and tangy scent of the morsel. As she swallowed, she listened absently to the sounds of light conversation and laughter from her fellow students. All in all, it was a good contender for the title of perfect day.

It had started off as a fairly normal day, as in normal for people who don't live in Nerima. After yesterday's stunning defeat, Genma wisely chose to let Ranma 'rest up' this morning without the usual spar. Akane had ended up staying the night at Sayuri's house, so the table survived the meal intact and there was no after-breakfast chase. The food was good, the conversation very light, and apparently everyone got to school on time, without even the intervention of a random Amazon attack. Her morning classes were fairly inconsequential, with the exception of her getting a perfect score on a calculus quiz.

This is why Nabiki was nervous. She could feel something bad coming, like a knot in the pit of her stomach, and experience had shown that the longer it takes for the bad thing to happen, the worse it tends to be. Deep down she just hoped that whatever happened would be at least a little profitable, and wouldn't involve her.

"Nice day, isn't it boss?" asked a rather cheerful Setsuko, interrupting her thoughts.

Nabiki opened her eyes to regard her brown haired assistant, and her boyfriend, Hasumato Eiji, a rather lanky classmate of Nabiki's with glasses and short, spiky hair dyed blue at the tips. He wore the standard Furinkan uniform, but with the added touch of leaving his jacket undone and the sleeve rolled up to the peaks of his biceps. Both smiled pleasantly as they sat down across the table, Setsuko leaning into Eiji's shoulder as he slung an arm around her shoulders casually, comfortably.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, noticing their matching gold charm necklaces.

"What's with the grumpy face, then? Come on, Nabiki, lighten up a little," Eiji suggested. "You gotta take advantage of days like this when you get the chance. I've got half a mind to just leave and spend the afternoon in the park." Setsuko elbowed his side lightly, and opened her own bento.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just, well..." Nabiki looked around casually before continuing, "It's too nice a day. Maybe I've just gotten used to the chaos around here, but I just can't help expecting to see something insane happen any second now."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure Ranma will find something or someone to break today. Just give it time, boss," added Setsuko.

"I wasn't referring to Ranma, actually. It's not like the craziness around here is all his fault," Nabiki replied between bites before changing the subject. "How is the 'Kuno-chan come home' pool coming along?"

Setsuko straightened up a bit, to Eiji's disappointment, as she gave her report. "Well, you said it might take a day or two for Kuno to figure out that he's chasing himself across Japan, so I broke up today and the next two school days into half-hour slots. I sold the time slots at 200 yen a piece, by random draw. I sold almost all of them already, so regardless of when he comes back we can expect a 5800 yen gross profit."

"Good, that will work out nicely," Nabiki replied before taking a mouthful of rice. "Any new gossip to report?"

"Nothing of interest, really. Sato Toji broke up with Seino Hitomi over some girl from Kolkhoz high. People are still talking about Ranma's apparent purity, of course. Oh, and Ranma also managed to sleep through all the morning classes without being sent out to the hall. Apparently Miss Hinako is a little scared of him after what happened yesterday," Setsuko finished her report, taking a bite of her soba noodles and leaning back into Eiji's shoulder. He smiled slightly as he returned his arm to its former perch, and squeezed her shoulder warmly.

"They just have to flaunt it, don't they?" Nabiki thought with bitter humor. "It should be illegal to act so obviously in love in the presence of single people, punishable by a fine at least."

"Hmm. So what about... hey, what's Gosunkugi doing over there in that bush?" The others turned around to see Nabiki's point of interest.

Across the yard and next to the drinking fountains, Hikaru was kneeling amongst several bushes that backed a wide stone bench. He was cloaked from head to toe in black, and in place of his usual candles, he had tied two small leafy branches to his head and another pair to his back so that they presented a rather cohesive bush disguise. It would have been, at least, if not for the fact that he could clearly be seen from behind by anyone who actually bothered to look in his direction. Akane, walking toward the bench with her friends, was apparently not so inclined.

"Well this looks interesting. Want me to go ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing, boss, or just watch and see?" asked Setsuko.

"Nah, I think I'll handle this one personally. I'm still a little annoyed that he tried to bargain with me yesterday," Nabiki stood up, finishing off her lunch.

"Coming along, you two?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Got nothing better to do," replied Eiji, looking to Setsuko for a nod.

As they approached, Gosunkugi's behavior seemed even more abnormal. He was shaking slightly, apparently out of a combination of nervousness and (if the goofy smile on his face was any indication) repressed maniacal chuckling. In one hand, he held a liquid concoction of some sort, bubbling and bright red, and in the other, a pair of tweezers. Akane sat on the bench next to Yuka, chatting absently as Hikaru slowly reached up from behind her with the tweezers, inch by inch.

**

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**

"I know, they were such a good couple! That Toji is such a jerk!" replied Sayuri as she took her seat.

"Well, I just hope Hitomi is ok. I'd be crushed if my boyfriend dumped me for some American exchange student," added Yuka before quickly retracting the statement. "Oh, I'm sorry Akane! That was insensitive of me."

"We haven't broken up. Not yet, at least..." replied Akane before taking on a teasing tone, "Besides, you'd have to have a boyfriend first, Yuka."

"Well, there's always Hiroshi. If shown even the slightest hint of attention he'd be begging to take me out," Yuka replied offhandedly.

"Yeah, but do you really want to be alone with that pervert? Besides, he's almost inseparable from Daisuke. If you go out with either of them it might as well become a threesome," Sayuri paused, smiling mischievously. "...Then again, it could be a lot of fun."

"You little pervert!" responded Akane, laughing. Soon all three were well into a full out giggling frenzy, the likes of which only a group of teenaged girls can create. I know she only said that to cheer me up, but I appreciate it.

"Hey Gosunkugi, what's up?"

The giggling came to a grinding halt as all three turned quickly around, finding Hikaru just inches behind them, with Nabiki grinning wildly just behind him. Gosunkugi jumped at the attention and attempted to flee. He only succeeded, however, in turning too quickly on his heels and falling into the dirt, but not before accidentally splashing the contents of the vial across Nabiki's chest.

Akane looked beyond her sister, noticing the presence of others and that both Eiji and Setsuko had odd, but easily readable, expressions of lust across their features, but neither was looking at the other. Gosunkugi took a quick look around, then leapt to his feet and took of at full speed, leaving a trail of falling leaves as he ran around the corner of the school.

"Hikaru, you'd better hope this crap doesn't stain or I'll be charging you for a new uniform." Nabiki muttered as she wiped at her blouse. "What is this stuff, anyway? It's all sticky, and smells like roses or... Oh, this had better not be the stuff you needed the money for!"

Suddenly, Akane found herself wondering why her sister was still single. "She's very smart, a good dancer, loyal to the family, has a good sense of humor, and is so flirtatious. Why, if only I had Nabiki's looks I would have landed Ranma for sure by now, other fiancées' or not. Those long legs, narrow waist, delicately feminine wrists, smoothly rounded shoulders, sexy hair and neck, deliciously firm and perky breasts..."

"To hell with Hiroshi." whispered Yuka breathlessly.

"Maybe a foursome?" offered Sayuri.

Akane looked over at her friends, finding them both staring at her sister. They both had that certain 'dreamy' glaze to their eyes and their mouths slightly parted as they looked her sister over from head to toe. She felt a sudden flash of heat and wondered absently just what was the source of the delightful smell that lingered in the wind.

"Boss?" asked Setsuko timidly.

"Yeah, what?" replied Nabiki, whose eyes roved franticly around the shrinking circle of girls as if she thought them ready to pounce.

"Are you free tonight? Want to see a movie with me, my treat? You can pick, I don't care what we watch as long as you're there."

"Uh, no thanks, Setsuko... I'm, uh, busy. Reeealllly busy." Nabiki's breathing was becoming quicker as slowly backed away, still not taking her eyes off of the assembled predators.

"Setsuko, what are you talking about? I thought we were going to have dinner with my family tonight?" asked Eiji with a sly grin. "I guess we could skip it, but only if I don't get left out."

"Oh, to hell with this..." muttered Yuka, clearing her throat. With her left hand lightly on her breast above her heart and the other posed dramatically skyward, she shouted, "Tendo Nabiki, I would date with thee!"

Nabiki broke and ran, shouting, "Hikaru, when I find you you're dead!" Setsuko, Yuka, and Sayuri immediately dropped everything and began pursuit in earnest.

Akane stood in silence for a moment, watching the chase as it continued across the yard and rounding the corner. "I don't get it, they act almost as if Nabiki were Ranma or something... What am I doing? She's getting away!" Akane's monologue ended abruptly as she launched herself into the chase, shouting wildly, "Hey, Nabiki, wait! We're sisters! We're supposed to love each other!"

**

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**

Somewhere on the outskirts of Nerima, in a thickly wooded area atop a gently rolling hill, Kuno Tatewaki stood, posed dramatically with one foot on a tree stump. The quest had been long and hard, and he always found himself just to be a step behind his quarry, never seeming to gain any ground. Everyone he encountered seemed shocked, rendered incapable of a clear response, no doubt by the fierce nature of his hated foe.

At dawn, he had wandered into this clearing and taken a moment to rest as he watched the violet night sky melt away into a glorious orange morning. It was an omen, he realized, that he had found the appropriate location for the encounter, where he would surely defeat the fiendish abuser of the pigtailed girl just as the sun conquered the night so completely. For hours he had maintained this pose, his eyes focused on the Eastern horizon, until, at last, he sensed the approach of another.

"Knave, show yourself! Do you fear my wrath even more than the shame of cowardice?" Kuno demanded, ignoring the tattered condition of his clothing. "I must return later," he promised himself, "when time is available for my leisure, and destroy that accursed thorn bramble. A thousand curses upon that wretched plant!"

"What's your problem?" came a response from close behind his personage. With speed that rivaled even the great Musashi, in full accordance with the ultimate principle of the fifth ring, no-mind, he turned and struck a legendary blow with his finely crafted weapon. It was a bokken of finest iron-oak, richly lacquered, with the engraved and gold foil pressed emblem of the house of Kuno upon the base of the grip. Truly, such a perfected weapon designed only for practice could never have existed anywhere else in the world.

When it impacted the skull of Hibiki Ryoga, the finest bokken ever crafted by man became a shattered stump of twisted wood chips. Rubbing the point of impact with one hand, Ryoga stated, "You know, if I were in a worse mood you'd be in some serious trouble right now, Kuno."

"Ah, I apologize for my indiscretion, mighty warrior. I am seeking a vile miscreant; a falsifier and violator of women, one who has dared to inflict harm upon one of my lady loves. But fear not, for I shall find and punish this foe, with the aid of the undaunted heavens, or I am not Kuno Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, age nineteen!" Kuno struck his usual triumphant pose, somewhat lessened in visual impressiveness due to the rather useless lump of wood in his grasp.

"Hey, you're from Furinkan High, right?" the lost boy inquired.

"Yes, of course! I am its finest warrior, captain of the kendo and debate teams, and the most dashing man about campus. Surely the tales of my prowess and charm have reached even the most remote and barren corners of out land, where one such as yourself might have had opportunity to ponder my achievements. Are you then a wondering student, traveled far in search of my tutelage?"

Ryoga cleared his throat, then attempted to steer the conversation somewhere less pointless. "Yeah, great, whatever. Now, about Furinkan..."

"Ah, the finest secondary educational establishment in all of the blessed isle, to be sure, even discounting the unfortunate personage of its principal. It is assuredly so, for nowhere else would a noble spirit such as myself permit himself to the rigors of public education."

"Uh, that's nice. Look do you know where it is?" Ryoga seemed somewhat annoyed.

"But of course! This is but one of the many facts which I have committed to memory." replied Kuno with head held high.

"Which way is it?" asked Ryoga, "I need to find Saotome Ranma, to prove once and for all that I'm better than he is."

"Nay, sir, that shall not come to pass. I, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall be the first to bring low that sorcerous blight upon my fair city. For two years have I strived to best him in daily combat, only to be deprived of victory again and again by his black rites!"

"Tell you what; you get me to him and I'll let you try him first," Ryoga offered with a strange grin.

"Aye, that arrangement would be acceptable," Kuno replied shrewedly, keenly aware that defeating the foul one was of greater importance than the petty detail of who landed the final blow. Not that he would fail when next they met, of course...

"So, which way is the school?"

"Why, without a doubt it lies directly to the, um..." Kuno looked about for a moment, then sat upon the tree stump and puzzled.

"You're lost, aren't you?" asked Ryoga tiredly.

Kuno leapt to his feet, producing yet another bokken, and pointed back the way he had come. "Ah ha! It is decidedly that way! Yes, my peerless mind has solved even this demon-sent riddle with ease. Mwa ha ha ha ha!"

"Great, lead on," Ryoga suggested. "Who is it that you were looking for again?"

"He was described to me as a man of tall body and fluffed, black hair, wearing the traditional garb of a samurai, blue and black in coloration. It was also mentioned that he was somewhat... slow of mind. Do not attempt to

fight by yourself, friend, I implore you. Surely someone with skill enough to fell my beloved pigtailed goddess could only be matched in mortal combat by me," explained Kuno.

Ryoga stared at him for a moment, looking him over thoroughly. "This pigtailed goddess of yours... is she the one that told you to look for this guy?"

"Yes, undoubtedly it is so! The fiend had the gall to attack a woman, and so I shall avenge her suffering!" Tatewaki proclaimed. "Why do you ask?"

Ryoga covered his mouth (obviously as a sign of deference, despite the faint laughter-like sound), before continuing. "Hate to break it to you, but that was Ranma. He's the reason that you're out here looking for yourself, pal. Here, take a look."

Ryoga fished in his pack for a moment, then produced a mirror. Kuno looked into the small frame of glass for a moment in silence, comparing the description of his foe to himself, finding a match in all ways, except of course the feeble-mindedness. "Ah, I should have realized it earlier! The crafty demon has enchanted my fair pigtailed goddess into believing that I myself am the one who inflicted upon her these grievous wounds! Egad! He has succeeded in separating me from her side, leaving her utterly vulnerable to his assault! Quickly, friend, we must make haste!"

He dashed off into the woods, paying no attention to the thorns he charged through as they scratched at his skin. Ryoga, with no better plan, simply shrugged and followed him, completely untroubled by the bushes, but taking care to at least avoid the poison oak.

**

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**

"Damn I can't believe the news about Toji," commented Hiroshi as he sat down against a tree in the corner of the yard.

"Yeah, that lucky dog! He just jumps from one total babe to the next without batting an eye!" replied Daisuke, digging into his lunch with fervor.

Ranma sat on a branch a few feet above them, relaxing after already finishing his lunch in typical Saotome fashion. "What are you guys talking about?" he asked tiredly with one eye open.

"Oh, I'll let you know when you're a little older, Ranma," teased Hiroshi, earning a slight growl.

"You don't know? Oh yeah, you were gone. Sato Toji broke up with Seino Hitomi, and now he is going out with an exchange student named Sara from another school. She's an American, and you know what they say about American girls!" answered Daisuke excitedly.

"Who?" asked Ranma again, confused.

"Don't even bother, Dai," interrupted Hiroshi, "You know Ranma has absolutely no social life. Heck, he doesn't even recognize the names of our class president and class representative."

"I don't have time to worry about people who aren't out to either kill or marry me. My schedule is pretty full," answered Ranma, dejectedly.

"Oh, poor Ranma. I'm the toughest man in Tokyo and I'm chased night and day by beautiful women. Whatever shall I do?" joked Daisuke, bringing his hands to his face in mock distress. "I know who I would do... but honestly, man, you can't deny you get all the perks, despite all the downsides to being you. I mean, Hinako was too afraid to wake you up all morning!"

"Yeah, how did you do that yesterday, anyway? Some new technique you picked up last week? Heh, it's probably got some goofy name like 'imperial rotisserie chicken stance' or something, knowing you," inquired Hiroshi.

"Nah, it's gotta be something cooler, like 'vampire hell blaze', right?" chimed in Daisuke. "Or maybe the infamous 'virginal frustration' defense."

Ranma swung down to face them, hanging from the branch by his knees. "Lay off, okay! So I'm a, well, you know... so what? If I did follow through with one of my fiancées I'd be either married, dead, or dragged off to China before the sun rose the next morning. Possibly all three."

Daisuke flinched, but Hiroshi remained calm and replied, "Alright, we'll lay of if you tell us about the new technique, won't we, Dai?"

Daisuke nodded, quickly finding a blank page in his ever-growing record of 'Ranma-isms', as he called them, supposedly reference material for some project he was working on.

"Honestly? I don't know what the hell I did. It was just an accident, not some new technique. At least, not yet. Feh, for all I know it could only work as a counter to her Happo go-en Satsu, and be useless otherwise. I tried to do it again this morning on the way to class, just practicing on some stray dogs, but nothing happened. Just wasn't angry enough, I guess."

He shrugged, which looked rather odd upside down.

"Oh well. Hey, the important thing is that she thinks you can do it..." said Hiroshi.

"Yeah! As long as she doesn't learn otherwise, she won't be draining anyone! Excellent!" interrupted Daisuke. He and Hiroshi exchanged high fives while Ranma only sighed and swung back up to his branch.

"Geez, What's with you, man? We just got a free pass to do whatever we want in class and you're just moping around," complained Hiroshi.

"It's nothing, really. I just got a bad feeling is all. This day has been way too quiet, so something's bound to happen sooner or later," he answered. "And, of course, whatever it is this time is gonna come screaming to me, as always."

"Ranma!" came a distant female scream.

"Heh. Well, there's your cue, pal," commented Daisuke, going back to his lunch. "Female, too. Hey, if you're lucky, maybe you'll finally get lucky!"

With a frustrated sigh, he dismounted the tree, landing on his good foot and immediately bounded off toward the scream with his crutch under his arm. Just once, couldn't it be someone else's problem? He quickly found the source of the disturbance, but was quite surprised to find Nabiki running toward him, followed by a stampede of pursuers that rivaled even Happosai's record.

"What the heck did you do now?" he asked, bouncing alongside her.

"Nothing! Just (huff) get me out of here before (huff) my legs give out!" she panted, looking back over her shoulder at her pursuers.

"Alright, hold on," he commanded, wrapping an arm around her waist. With a grunt, he leapt towards the top of the school's roof, obviously going to fall short. Crap, one leg and two people don't make for good jumping! He quickly lashed out with the crutch toward a window ledge, just barely catching enough of it with the shoulder grip to give himself an extra boost.

With a flip, they landed on the roof, roughly. "Damn, I'll have to remember not to try for more than two stories till my ankle's healed," he admitted while untangling himself from Nabiki. "You okay?"

"Yeah, well, I'm a hell of a lot (huff) better than I was a minute ago," she replied, laying flat on her back and closing her eyes.

He waited a moment for her to get her breath back, watching as her chest rose and fell with each gasping breath beneath her sweat and... something... covered blouse. He looked away abruptly, asking, "So, what was that all about?"

"I caught Gosunkugi about to do something to Akane. I surprised him just when he was about to strike, and he turned around and flung some kind of sticky red goo all over me! Next thing I know, everybody around me is giving me weird looks, one of my assistants asks me out on a date, and then Akane's friends wig-out Kuno style!" she explained.

"Wig-out Kuno style? That can't be good. Well, at least it smells nice," he reasoned.

"Like that's any consolation! Being hounded by a school full of potential rapists isn't my idea of a good time, Ranma!" she yelled.

"Welcome to my life," he replied. "Look, just calm down, okay Nabiki? I've got experience with this sort of thing, and it really isn't all that bad. Usually these love potion things only last a day or so, and in any case I'm sure Cologne can take care of it for you. I mean, if the Gos-man could make the spell work, it can't be that hard to remove, can it?"

"Well, I guess so. I'm just not used to being caught up in the local chaos, you know? I'm more of sidelines kind of girl," she added, keeping a close eye on him.

"Come on, we've got her cornered! You all saw how Ranma almost missed that jump, so no way he can just jump them both down!" The yell from the stairwell sounded oddly a lot like Akane.

"Hell, they're right," Ranma admitted, looking around for a place to hide or get down. "Nabiki, I need you to be very still and quiet. Try to keep your mind blank, so your chi doesn't interfere with mine."

"What?" she asked as he scooped her up into his arms.

"Quiet, still, no thoughts. Now," he repeated evenly as he closed his eyes and concentrated, gathering and readjusting his chi around him to activate the Umisenken technique. Nabiki tensed slightly, but forced herself to follow his instructions as the door opened. They waited silently behind the open door, remaining motionless as the hoard of students led by Akane streamed onto the roof.

For several tense moments, they searched the roof, looking down the sides and glancing off around the school grounds. Eventually, Akane yelled in frustration "Well, she must have snuck by us! Come on, we'll split up and search the whole town if we have to! Besides, I can still smell her, so she can't have gotten far!" Ranma quickly jumped up to the smaller roof section above the door as the students charged back down the stairs, none even glancing in their direction as they passed.

Nabiki sat absolutely still in his arms as the sound of footsteps drifted off into the distance. He held her tightly, enjoying the subtle fragrance of her hair, her skin... just like roses. "Why couldn't I have been engaged to her instead?" he wondered. "She's so much smarter, sexier, and less violent than Akane is. I could stay like this forever, just holding her in my arms and enjoying the silence."

This relative peace only lasted a few moments, though, until she spoke up. "Uh, I think it's clear, Ranma."

"Yeah, I guess," he sighed before hopping back to the lower roof surface and returning her to her own feet. He did not, however, completely release her from his grasp.

"Maybe Hiroshi and Daisuke are right." He pondered for a moment. "Maybe I really am missing out..." He shifted his right hand to trace the curve of her left breast, cupping it gently as he bent his head down to lightly kiss along her neck and left earlobe.

She jerked immediately in his grasp, but did not manage to break his hold. Somewhat unevenly, she suggested, "Uh, you can let go of me now, Ranma."

"Aww, now why would you want me to do that, Nabiki-chan? We've got the entire roof to ourselves and it's such a nice day to be outside," he answered, not loosening his grasp on her waist, nor halting his gentle fondling. "Besides, I just saved you, so you owe me something as a reward... and I like holding you like this."

"Ranma, let me go. Now," she commanded. He stopped his movement, but did not release her. He stared intently into her eyes, noting the nervous movements of fear with some confusion. Her mask of ice was crumbling, allowing her fear to show through. "Please, Ranma... please don't."

Reluctantly, he let go of her and stepped away. His urge to take her right this minute warred for a moment, but ultimately lost against his will to protect her rather than cause more harm. "I, I'm sorry, Nabiki. I would never...I mean, I'd never hurt you, I..."

She came no closer to him, but replied, "Ranma, it's okay, it's just the potion talking. You have to fight it... and I had better get rid of this as soon as possible." She waited for a moment as he stood with closed eyes, breathing deeply and smoothly. "Are you going to be okay now?"

"Yeah... I think I'm alright," he answered uncertainly. "Let's get going, and I mean like now." Before I lose it again...

"Us? Ranma, I don't think that such a good idea, you know?" she said, still maintaining a distance.

"Nabiki, I swear I won't do that again if I can help it... but if you go by yourself then what will you do if the others find you? They may not be able or willing to resist it as much as I am right now..." ...And I won't be able to keep this up for long. Just looking at her makes my mouth water.

Hesitantly she walked toward him, but did not come within a yard. "Okay, you have a point, Ranma. If you try anything though, I swear on my life that your entire family won't have a yen to its name for generations to come... is that clear?"

"Yes, Nabiki, completely... but on two conditions. Neither of us mentions this to anyone..." he swallowed and looked away, "and I get just one kiss before this wears off. Deal?"

She stood silent for what seemed like an eternity, staring right at him as her expression shifted slightly from shock to a thin smile. "Yeah, okay, but not until we get to the Cat Cafe, alright?" Nabiki waited for his nod, then walked past him toward the stairway.

**

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**

After stifling a sneeze, Mousse leaned against the wall idly with his eyes closed, enjoying the brief rest after the lunch rush had finally passed. Not that he was physically tired, of course, but he was weary of dealing with these damned Japanese customers, and this cold wasn't helping at all.

They were always so polite and reserved to his face, to the point of being patronizing. As soon as he walked away from their tables they almost always began with the usual 'Chinese immigrants are taking over this country, little by little. Good food, though...' type comments, or worse. Somehow, they simply assumed that he was incapable of truly understanding their language because his eyes didn't slant the right way, or that he wouldn't be able to hear every word they said, no matter where he was in the restaurant. His bad vision had always plagued him, but there were times when he cursed his acute sense of hearing even more.

His bitter reverie was cut short by a sharp strike to the top of his head. "Wake up, Mr. Part Time! Just because there are no customers for the moment does not mean that you have earned a break. Go and sweep the floors, wipe down all the stools and tables, and then get busy on dishes. When I have completed Shampoo's training session for the day, then you may rest until the dinner crowd comes. Not one second sooner."

"Dried up old hag..." he muttered as he began sweeping, earning another blow by way of a thrown serving spoon.

"I hear you, idiot. Less talk, more sweep!" Cologne yelled from the back lot, through the open kitchen door.

"Damn her!" He scowled, but wisely kept it internal this time. "Damn this whole God forsaken island and every intolerant, bigoted soul on it. Nothing would be better than for their sacred Mt. Fuji to erupt in their faces and wipe them all from the earth in fire and ash. No, the only thing that would be better is for it to explode with Shampoo and I safely at home, and with Saotome Ranma and the crusty old bitch training in the crater as it blows."

With a sigh, he quickly revised that thought. "No, that wouldn't do. That lucky fool Saotome would probably find some way to not only survive, but also discover some new technique out of being at the center of the explosion. As if he weren't powerful enough as it is. Truth be told, I doubt I'll ever reach Ranma's level now, not after seeing what he's truly capable of doing when provoked. I should tell Cologne what really happened at Jusendo, and then maybe she'd realize that she will never convince Ranma to join us, that he is impossible to force into anything."

"No. Shampoo won't tell because it would guarantee that she lose her claim to Ranma. I can't tell because it would destroy my chances with Shampoo if I hurt her like that. Damn him! How can he so callously reject her love, the only thing I've ever wanted in my whole life, and then tempt me with the prospect of enslaving her will with those damned eggs?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the high-pitched jingle from the little bells hung on the door, quickly followed by an equally high-pitched voice. "Hey, Mousse! Can you go and get Cologne for me? I need her advice on something, I think. Oh, and I need some hot water, too! Nabiki said she'd kiss me, but only if I'm male at the time. Stupid Mrs. Tanaka and her ladle..."

Mousse slowly put his glasses on and looked at the person before him. It looked like Ranma, it talked like Ranma, but there was something decidedly wrong with his rival today. He was in his girl form, still wet and dripping water on the area he just finished cleaning, and was acting rather distracted. Every couple of words he looked back over his shoulder at the door, and his skin was almost as red as his hair currently was. Strangest of all, he was leaning on a crutch.

"Why should I do you any favors, Saotome?" he asked skeptically, and then sneezed again.

"Because it's your place to serve your betters, idiot. Go get the water he asked for, and then start on the dishes. Keep Shampoo out back as Son-in-law said, for now," answered Cologne from behind him, with yet another crack to the skull. He grudgingly left the room, rubbing his aching head as he went, but remained within earshot. "...And take something for that nose! What would we do if a health inspector came in with you sneezing all over the place?"

"Nabiki, my love, you can come in now!"

"I thought I told you to stop saying that. Why are you still a girl?"

He came back into the dining area with a cup of boiling broth from a soup pot, noticing the odd situation. Nabiki stood in the corner, keeping her eyes on Ranma, but keeping the redhead between herself and Mousse. Cologne sat nearby, watching the scene and chuckling slightly. He snapped Ranma out of his odd behavior with a quick splash.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Ranma danced around frantically for a moment, dripping with broth and noodles. Nabiki stared at Mousse as her shield left his post, backing away slightly.

"Is there some reason you have to fear... ahhhh," Mousse paused to breathe awkwardly for a moment, keeping his hand posed to pinch off his nose for a moment before continuing his question. "...Me today, Ten...achoo!" He pinched it off just in time, causing his entire face to momentarily puff as the pressure escaped. His shoulders sagged as he released a long deep breath with his eyes still closed.

"Very clever, Mr. Part Time. Now how, pray tell, were you planning on escaping punishment for your little trick?" Cologne asked from atop her cane, smiling without amusement. "What, no escape plan? I thought as much. You just lost that break, and every other break this week. Satisfied? Good. Now get back to the kitchen and don't make any more trouble, or I'll lock you in the cage."

Grumbling, he returned to the kitchen and resumed eavesdropping while searching his robes for an antihistamine.

"So, can I get that kiss now?"

"Forgive me for interrupting, my dears, but what exactly brings a lovely young flower like yourself to me this afternoon?"

"Oh crap, not you too! Aren't you too old for that sort of thing?"

"Oh, I suppose so, Son-in-law. Nothing can stop me from enjoying the view though, right?"

"Oh man, that's scary..."

"Say, Cologne, you wouldn't be willing to do me a favor, would you? I'd really appreciate it."

"But of course, Nabiki, I'd do anything for you!"

"Do you know of any love potions that use something called dragon rose as an ingredient?"

"But of course I do! Not a very reliable thing, really, although very potent. It only works as long as the smell remains in the target's nose."

"Hey, what about my kiss?"

"Great, so you know how to cure it, right?"

"But of course! The ingredients are very expensive, but I could never refuse you anything, young beauty!"

"Hey! We had a deal, Nabiki!"

"Geez... Can't you wait for just a minute Ranma? She hasn't even made the cure yet!"

"Aiya, Airen here for to visit Shampoo!"

Mousse jumped for a moment at the shriek behind him, quickly turning to face her. "No, Shampoo! The old mummy said that you have to stay back here!" he begged as he stood in the doorway waving his hands franticly.

"Stupid Mousse, you no stop Shampoo from visit Airen!" She casually kicked him through the door and entered after him. "Great-grandmother, what you... Aiya! Nabiki too, too cute! Come to ask Elder if become Amazon and share airen with Shampoo, yes?"

Nabiki jumped behind Ranma, answering "Uh, Nabiki come to join Amazons... no."

"Aha, so that is why you were interested in a cure! Yes, of course, an untargeted love potion! I have just thing for you in the back, my sweet child," answered Cologne, who quickly bounced off into the storage room on her staff.

"Just what in the hell is going on around... achoo!" Mousse asked, quickly covering his nose with a handkerchief produced from his sleeve.

Nabiki momentarily paused behind Ranma in her game of 'keep away from Shampoo' to regard him as he wiped at his nose. "Wait... you can't smell anything right now, can you Mousse?"

"Unfortunately, no, I can't," he grumbled. "Why?"

"Good, that means at least one person inhere won't be affected by this damned potion!" She replied while running towards him. As soon as she moved, Shampoo sprang at her, only to be tripped up by Ranma.

"Airen no should stop Shampoo!" she complained, but Ranma held her in a bear hug to the floor, with her arms pinned firmly to her sides.

"Saotome, you bastard! Get your hands off of Sham...Achoo!" cried Mousse with indignity as he threw a variety of chains towards his rival. The sneeze, however, was enough to throw off his aim and send his glasses flying.

Nearly an hour later, Cologne returned to the dining room with a clothespin on her nose. In her hand was a small cup of bubbling, purplish liquid, wreathed in dark gray vapors.

Ranma, Shampoo, and Nabiki looked in her direction, all three bound securely to an overturned table with multiple lengths of chain. Mousse did not look up, choosing instead to continue looking for his lost glasses, which he promptly stepped on.

She paused, surveying the scene before her with a slight chuckle as he cursed. "Quite the day for you, eh Mousse? Defeating Ranma, Shampoo, and for some reason Nabiki while I was gone."

"I did what?" he asked, finally giving up on that pair of glasses and producing a second from his sleeve. He turned to regard the three rather annoyed captives, two of whom simultaneously growled at him. Nabiki, however, wasted no time whatsoever in downing the cure offered to her.

"Well, I would have been impressed if you had done it on purpose..." replied Cologne while she removed the chains. Ranma and Shampoo paused for a moment and looked at Nabiki, who returned a curious look. Ranma blinked and grinned, but was cut off from replying when Shampoo turned back to look at him and immediately tackled him to the floor with a wild smile.

"Gah!" yelled Ranma, as he tumbled backward with an armload of Amazon.

"Airen!" cried the armload, rubbing as much of her against as much of him as she could presently manage.

"Achoo!" sneezed Mousse. "I mean, Shampoo!" he yelled as he prepared to attack yet again.

"Honestly," Nabiki commented offhand as the chaos resumed once more.

"Enough of this nonsense, all of you!" commanded Cologne, punctuated with a sharp crack to Mousse's skull. "Shampoo, get up. Son-in-law, Tendo, get out of here so we can clean this mess up. Oh, that will be 25,000 yen for the cure, by the way."

"I thought you said it was a favor," replied Nabiki, crossing her arms.

"I do believe that I was not in my right mind at the time I offered such a bargain, Miss Tendo," Cologne replied coldly, "but you were still very much in command of your faculties when you accepted the counteragent I prepared."

Nabiki did not back down. "You failed to explicitly state the change in price before I consumed it."

"Would you rather I had left you with the effect?" Cologne asked smugly. "I could always reapply it for you."

Nabiki took a quick, nervous glance at Shampoo and Ranma. "No, that won't be necessary. I could give you 10,000 yen, just to be fair."

"20,000," answered Cologne, "in light of the apparent confusion."

Nabiki smirked. "15,000 yen, and I don't tell the health department about Mr. Sniffles over there. They can be quite... thorough in their investigations, especially when potentially illegal immigrants are involved."

"Why you greedy... achoo!" interrupted Mousse, who was himself interrupted by a sneeze. He looked away from Cologne's gaze sheepishly, wiping his nose.

"Very well, 15,000 it is," conceded the elder. "I'll expect payment soon, girl."

"Oh, that won't be a problem... I'll just subtract it from your bill," Nabiki replied as she handed over a strip of paper. "The repair bills that Shampoo and Mousse earned the other day at the wedding. 100,000 yen, each."

"Shampoo only attempt kill obstacle," whispered Shampoo, turning away from Nabiki disdainfully.

"My, that's quite a high figure. What exactly did you two do the other day?" asked Cologne, eyeing Mousse with a cold glare.

"Oh, they only managed to destroy my family dojo, and our ancestral shrine that was located inside it," Nabiki offered with a dismissive hand gesture. "The bill has been divided up evenly among everyone who crashed the event, just in case you were wondering."

"Don't look at me, I was just there for the cure! Shampoo was the one who..." Shampoo shot him a cold glare now as well, and he immediately slumped. "Oh fine, it was all my fault. Shampoo was a perfect little angel and did nothing whatsoever at the wedding that would cause damage, like destroying another wall and throwing bombs all over the crowded room." Shampoo's look didn't soften much.

"Hmm. Well I suppose I'll just have to take out a loan, and pay off the interest by withholding your salary." Cologne now looked away from Mousse to Shampoo, who did not return her look or even make eye contact. "And your allowance, great-granddaughter."

"But Shampoo innocent!"

"Child, need I remind you that I was not born yesterday? Go back to your practice." Cologne answered sharply. Shampoo lowered her head and left the room quietly. "I will have your 185,000 yen by next Monday, Miss Tendo, But I strongly suggest you don't come to me for favors anytime in the near future. Now kindly take your leave."

"Pleasure doing business with you," said Nabiki with a smile as she left, followed closely by Ranma after he muttered a quick thanks.

Cologne grumbled to herself after they had gone, crumpling the bill in her hand and tossing it over her shoulder at Mousse's face. "Did Son-in-law seem somewhat... wrong to you, Mousse?" she inquired, still looking in the direction of the door.

"Other than the crutch and the effects of the potion? No more than usual," he replied, catching the wad of paper after it struck his face and dropping it in the trash.

"For a second there I thought I felt... oh, never mind. I'm probably just finally starting to get old," she mused."Now then, Mousse, I think it is high time for you to get started on cleaning this place. You can start with the soup noodles on the floor," she suggested as she hopped away.

**

* * *

**

"One Shrimp Deluxe!" declared Ukyo cheerfully as she served it the last customer in line. Wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow, she decided to take a short break. "What is going on today?" she wondered. "It's never been this busy until at least five on a weekday! Oh well, money is money and I'm not complaining, especially with that debt hanging over my head."

She went into the storage room and up the stairs to the small loft apartment she called home, first grabbing a green apple from a bowl in her kitchenette, and then immediately collapsed on her couch. With a pleased sigh, she pulled her feet up and lay completely out on the couch, enjoying the rest as she took a bite of the slightly sour fruit. "Hmm, just like my Ranchan. A little under ripened and sour at first, but oh so sweet and refreshing once you get used to his special sort of flavor. Wait... Ranma! Ranchan was coming over today, and he'll be here any minute! I have to take a shower, wash my hair, change clothes..."

"Ukyo-sama, Saotome Ranma is here to see you. Shall I send him up?" called Konatsu from the stairwell.

She grit her teeth in annoyance. "Uh, keep him busy for a few minutes, okay? Give him a free okonomiyaki and ask him to wait a sec while I freshen up," she called down, and then immediately went into a frenzy of activity.

In the span of four minutes she managed to shower, wash her hair, shave her legs, brush her teeth, dress in her Ranchan's favorite royal blue robe, tie her hair up in a perfect white bow, and practice her 'cute' smile twice in the mirror. The fact that she cut herself twice and still had soap in her eye was promptly ignored.

"Konatsu?" she called down the stairs, wiping at her eye.

After a moment he answered, "Yes, Miss Ukyo?"

"Send him up, please. I'm ready!"

As she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, she quickly went through four poses, finally deciding to set on the couch with one leg up, facing the door, with one arm resting on the back of the couch and the other in her lap, head back and eyes closed.

"Uh, you comfortable, Ukyo?" asked Ranma as he entered.

Immediately she opened her eyes (but not too quickly) and gave him the second 'cute' smile (small and sweet, with only a little bit of teeth) as she rose to greet him. "Hey Ranchan! Nice to see you!"

"Yeah... um, nice bow," he replied.

Yes! "You like it, Ranchan? It's new! I just got it yesterday, so you're the first person to see me wear it!" she answered cheerfully.

He stood in silence for a moment, scratching the back of his head in his I've-got-something-to-say-but-don't-know-how-to-say-it manner before continuing. "You remember why I'm here, right?"

Mentally she cursed, hoping he had forgotten about that. With much less cheer she replied, "Yeah, Ranchan, I remember." She decided that if overwhelming cuteness wasn't going to work then time for plan B; irresistible waterworks. With a little tearing up (now thankful for the still present soap in her eye), she pleaded, "Ranchan, I'm so sorry about what I did the other day. I just, I just wanted..."

Ranma offered a friendly pat on the shoulder, which she immediately turned into a rather awkward hug. He put forth his best defense, "Ukyo... Come on, don't cry. I understand what you were trying to do, and I appreciate the fact that you wanted to protect me."

"So you forgive me? You're not angry anymore?" she asked, her large, watery eyes looking up from his chest with hope.

He let go of her, stepping back and turning sideways. "I don't know yet, Ukyo. Just like I said the other day, it's not the bombs that I'm mad about, it's the attitude. I'm mad because you, all the other girls, and even my family decided that I can't control my own life."

"But, but you were there, Ranma, in a tux and everything! How was I supposed to act when I saw my fiancé about to wed another girl?" demanded Ukyo, stepping into his view. "I was devastated when I heard the news from Nabiki! I cried for hours and had to close the restaurant because I just couldn't take it! Then Shampoo called, and we decided to team up just this once to stop it from happening."

His reaction was not at all what she expected. "I am so sick of everyone dragging me around, yelling at me to marry practically every girl alive, attacking me for no reason, and then blaming everything that they just did on me! I'm only human, damn it!" He stood back and glared at her with burning eyes.

"Do you know what I had to deal with just this afternoon? Do you?" he demanded. He continued before she could open her mouth. "Since lunch I've been taunted about my virginity, affected by a love potion, forced to sneak around a posse of students, drenched by a senile old hag, scalded with soup, tackled by an Amazon, and chained to a table! Don't you think I deserve a break once in a while?" Ranma through his arms above his head and his head back in frustration. "And today was actually one of my -good- days!"

He held his head with both hands and stood in silence, just breathing deeply with his eyes closed. "Ranchan... You're scaring me," she admitted after a very tense silence. He lowered his head and rubbed his forehead before bringing his gaze to hers. "I'm sorry, Ranma, really. I wasn't thinking straight, you know? Please calm down..."

Ranma lowered his head again, looking at the floor with a sigh. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean. Just like I'm not quite right at the moment, either." He took her hand and sat down on the couch next to her before continuing. "Ukyo, the only reason I was there at the wedding at all was because Pop and Mr. Tendo knocked me out and dressed me in the stupid tux. Then they all tried to blackmail me with a cure that should have already rightfully been mine. It wasn't my idea at all."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" she asked softly, her voice strengthening as she continued. "Ranchan, look at it from my point of view. You run off to god knows where for a week with Shampoo and Akane, and don't even tell me where you're going. Then Nabiki comes in here, and before she even mentions that you're still alive she starts talking about a wedding for you two!"

"You could have trusted me, Ukyo, maybe just a little," he replied softly. Ukyo stiffened. "You're my oldest friend... and my fiancée. There's no way I would run off without at least talking to you about it first."

"Then why didn't you tell me you were running off to China last week?" she asked.

"That was sort of a Jusenkyo-cursed-only kind of deal, Ukyo... and time was critical. That may not be the best excuse, and I'm sorry, but it's also a completely different situation; I had every intention of coming back. Believe me, Ucchan, if I had plans to run off with one of you girls I'd at least tell everyone first," he said, almost more to himself than to her. "I'm not my father, after all."

"So it's true? What Nabiki said? That you haven't made a decision yet?" she asked in a pleading tone.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"So, am I forgiven, Ranchan?" she begged, noting his use of her nickname.

"Yeah, I guess," he conceded, with a smile. "Just promise me you won't go off the deep end again the next time something crazy happens, okay, Ucchan? I've got enough problems with out you going nuts on me, too."

"So, you had a rough day, huh?" she offered, "Me too, but not that rough. Just a bunch more customers than I expected."

"Well, that's probably related to mine. Nabiki and I had some trouble that we went to Cologne to fix. We sent all their customers to you while things were crazy," he replied.

"So you recommended my restaurant to all those people? Thanks, Ranchan!" she said while giving him a quick hug.

"Uh, actually, that was mostly Mousse's idea, but it sounded good so I went along with it," he answered. She was prepared to reply, but was interrupted by a yell from Konatsu.

"Miss Ukyo! Come quick, I need your help! Tsubassa is here again, and two other people are causing trouble as well, shouting something about Mister Ranma!" he called up the stairs.

"Hell, just when this was getting good again..." Ukyo mentally replied in frustration.

They both hurried down the steps and found the dining area a complete circus. Customers were diving for cover as Konatsu dueled in mid air over their heads with a phone booth that kept yelling "Charge!"

Off to the side of the counter, however, stood two people who had not panicked. The first was a tall and rather handsome boy with short brown hair, who wore a rather expensive looking blue suit and jacket with a golden necktie. At his side was a rather petite girl with slightly reddish-brown hair, wearing a matching golden spaghetti strapped dress and a blue bow above her ear.

The boy watched the fight with a superior smirk as the girl clutched to one of Ukyo's plates and kept muttering something that sounded French. He turned to snatch the plate from her grasp roughly, but something wasn't right about the way he moved... "Ah," she realized, "both were wearing roller blades for some reason."

Behind her, Ranma started banging his head on the doorframe, muttering, "Crap, not them again. All I need now is to be jumped by Ryoga and this day will be officially my crappiest ever."

"You know them, Ranchan?" she asked as she tossed a handful of spatulas at the phone booth when she had a clear shot, earning a yelp from the person inside.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Ranma admitted, pointing towards them. "Sanzenin Mikado and Shiratori Azusa, the 'Golden Pair' of martial arts ice-skating. I beat them in a fight before you came to town, with Akane as my partner. Well, as my first partner, anyway. I got changed and then Ryoga showed up... well, you get the general idea. Just keep on guard around Mikado, okay? He tends to be rather... forward with women."

"Forward? How?" she asked as she batted the booth with her Big Ass Spatula, finally forcing Tsubassa out of his disguise as it shattered against the wall.

"I really don't want to talk about it," he answered evasively.

Ukyo glanced at him with one eyebrow raised quizzically, then returned to dealing with the most active intruder. "Alright, Tsubasa, I've warned you often enough to stay the hell out of here. I guess I'll just have to beat it into you this time."

Ukyo swung the spatula at the cowering, overly cute boy in drag on the floor, but she missed as he was quickly dragged out of it's path. "No! You can't hurt my precious Rupaul! He's so cute, and you'll ruin him if you do!" She raced out of the restaurant tightly holding onto a very panicky (and recently renamed) Rupaul, who screamed in girlish terror, albeit cutely.

Mikado held his brow with one hand, muttering "He? You imbecile..." as Ranma chuckled from the doorway. "Aha! There you are, Saotome, hiding behind another man like a coward! We've... I've come to challenge you to a rematch, to avenge the only mark against my record and regain the following of my former fan club! I've trained so hard for this day that I haven't even been able to find the time to kiss any girls in the last year and a half!"

"Man!" cried Ukyo indignantly, "I'm a woman, you idiot!"

"Coward!" shouted Ranma. "You moron, you couldn't beat me then and you don't have the slightest prayer against me now!"

Mikado ignored them both, his eyes trained on Konatsu as he began to rearrange the disturbed furniture. "Well, no time like the present..." He rolled over to Konatsu suddenly, lifting the surprised ninja off his feet and into his arms, "To think that such a lovely flower of womanhood could fight so bravely, and yet have no man to aid her or applaud her victory. Please, accept from me my sincerest appreciation of your talents and beauty, my long-awaited 3000th kiss!" Without further warning, he leaned in on the flabbergasted Konatsu and seized the ninja's lips.

Ukyo's eyes bugged as she witnessed this scene, and grew even wider when she noticed Konatsu's arms wrap around Mikado's shoulders and return the kiss with abandon. Mikado stood amazed, receiving his first positive response to one of his advances. After a moment, the kiss ended and Mikado returned Konatsu to the ground with an absent expression and a goofy smile.

Ranma backed away slowly, looking a bit green, until the kiss ended. Glancing at the few remaining patrons, he suggested "Uh, come on back to the storage room so we can talk about this, privately. There's something you really ought to know, Mikado."

When Ukyo, Konatsu, and Mikado had all followed him back, he closed the door. "I never thought I'd say this, but I thank you may have finally found your niche, Sanzenin. That's two in a row for you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean by 'two in a row', Saotome? I don't understand..." asked a still slightly out of it Mikado.

"That's the second guy in a row you've kissed, and from the look on your face I think you liked it!" proclaimed Ranma. "Here, recognize me?" he asked with a chuckle as he poured a glass of water from a nearby table over his head.

"Number 2491! But, Saotome, where...?" Mikado leaned on a crate of soba noodles for support as he witnessed the change.

"Ranchan? You kissed him?" she asked, shocked. Konatsu looked very curiously at him.

"Other way around, Ucchan," Ranma said defensively. "I don't think he knew exactly what he was doing, either."

Ukyo nodded in understanding, and handed him a kettle of hot water, as Ranma continued his explanation. "Ancient Chinese curse of Jusenkyo, pal: Spring of Drowned Girl. Cold water curses me," she explained as she dumped the water over her head, "but hot water returns me to my normal form." With a dark snicker he added, "Just in case it wasn't clear, I'm a guy."

"And you suffer from such a curse as well?" asked Mikado pleadingly as he took Konatsu's hand.

"Um, no, I don't. I was born a guy but I was raised as a girl. I still consider myself one, at heart" answered the ninja.

The room was silent for a moment as Ukyo looked on with pity, Mikado seemed to simply freeze, and Ranma looked on with disgust as he wondered out loud, "You mean he's gay? I always thought he was just confused..."

"News to me, too, Ranma," admitted Ukyo, although without the accusatory tone.

"It never really came up..." Konatsu offered, helpfully, "And it's not like it has any effect on either of you."

"But I, but..." Mikado sprang to his feet and skated away, with bitter tears streaming down his face as he fled. "This cannot be!" he proclaimed as he rushed out the door.

"Too bad, he was pretty cute, wasn't he, Miss Ukyo?" asked Konatsu as he stared at the door wistfully. "Really good kisser, too."

Ranma paled and left quickly, muttering some unintelligible excuse.

"What was all that about?" wondered Ukyo as he left.

**

* * *

**

"That... That's just so wrong." Ranma paused for a moment in his hopping towards the dojo as a cold shiver ran down his spine. "I mean, sure I've pretended to like guys when I was in my cursed form, but I wasn't ever really into them, no matter what the stupid curse told my body. The idea of being with a guy when I am a guy, though... ugh, now I feel even worse."

Just as he was about to continue, a rather familiar chuckle caught his attention. Just across the street, giggling maniacally and clutching a single vial of reddish goo rather protectively, was Gosunkugi Hikaru. "Heh, just what I need to take my mind off the gay stuff; a chance to dish out a little well-deserved punishment."

Apparently too caught up in a premature celebration to notice Ranma's presence, he failed to dodge away as a hand shot out from behind him, flinging him into an alley by the back of the head and snatching the vial out of his hand. When he was released roughly to the ground with a shove, he looked up from his coughing long enough to realize just who it was that had him at his mercy. "Ranma! Wait, don't hit me, I can explain! I wasn't really planning to go to sneak into the Tendo home and..."

"Explain what, Gos-man?" interrupted Ranma with a rather unfriendly smile. He positioned himself between Hikaru and the street lights, leaving him only a dark, imposing form of shadow to the smaller boy. "Are you going to explain to me just how using a magical potion to enslave someone with love isn't morally deplorable? Or how I should just let you go so that you can try this kind of crap again in a few days? Cause if you are, I don't want to hear it."

Hikaru tried to fight back with his trusty wooden mallet, but Ranma intercepted it with a single finger. The boy quaked with fear as it was reducing it to a smoldering pile of ash and a few inches of handle with one quick burst of chi. "Wha, what do you want from me?" he asked, pleadingly, covering his face with his hands.

"Oh, nothing much, really." Ranma picked Hikaru up by the front of his shirt with one hand, lifting him off of his feet and slamming him firmly against the concrete wall of a small grocery store. "I just want you to tell me how this potion of yours works."

"Why would you want to... Agh!" Gosunkugi yelled as he was slammed against the wall yet again, bumping his head. He vainly grasped at Ranma's wrist with both hands but was unable to even make an indentation in the toned muscles beneath his skin.

"I ask questions. You give answers. It's really simple, Gos-man," stated Ranma with that cold tone again.

"It... It's just a simple love lure, nothing fancy," Hikaru replied meekly.

"Do you have any more of it?" asked Ranma.

"No, this is the last of it. Just take it and go, please!" begged Hikaru.

"How do you make the potion only work on one person? I mean, you weren't really trying to get every guy and girl in town to fall for you, right?" asked Ranma, loosening his hold slightly as Hikaru began to cooperate.

"Uh, well, all you have to do is put a sample of some sort from the person you want it to affect into the mixture. Once you do, just apply the potion to whomever you want that person to fall for, and that's it. The moment they smell the person with the potion on, it's all over for them. Simple," he replied carefully. Ranma sat him back on his feet when he finished.

"So all I have to do is take a sample, say a bit of hair..." Ranma's hand darted out and pulled a few strands of hair from Hikaru's scalp. As the boy yelped and clutched at the spot, Ranma continued. "Put it in the mixture, and apply it to someone, right?"

"But why would you..." stated Hikaru, realizing just what had happened as he looked up to see Ranma replacing the stopper tightly.

"My code of honor won't allow me to just kick the shit out of a weakling like you, so be thankful for that," he explained, juggling the vial idly. "However, it says nothing about dishing out a little poetic justice by, say, inflicting your own plot back onto you. Maybe this time you'll finally learn your lesson."

"You wouldn't," declared Hikaru, hoping to call Ranma's bluff.

"Watch me," replied Ranma as he backed up his words. With a quick movement of his hand, he tossed the vial over his shoulder nonchalantly.

Except for one brief reflection in the night sky, it disappeared into the air, hurtling towards the downtown shopping district. "Hey, maybe you'll luck out and it won't land on anyone."

"You, you monster!" screamed Hikaru as he charged Ranma blindly. His feeble attempt at a punch was quickly deflected and converted into a simple one-handed throw across the alleyway.

"I'm the monster?" asked Ranma with a derisive snort as he turned his back on the boy. "At least I left it up to chance as to whether you were inflicted or not. You, on the other hand, were planning to inflict this on Akane for your own gain. And then when your plan fell through you ran, leaving Nabiki to handle it on her own! If I hadn't found her and been able to resist it, she would probably have been molested by someone, maybe even Akane!"

"I, I didn't mean to..." he whined.

Ranma continued, ignoring him. "Heck, if you're lucky you might even be able to remove the effect before you get a whiff of whoever it fell on, if it fell on anyone at all."

"But it will cost a fortune to get the stuff I'll need to remove its effects, and I already blew all my savings on the potion itself!" he complained.

"What, and you think that I managed to get Nabiki cured for free? You ain't getting any pity out of me," replied Ranma casually.

Ranma stood in the alleyway for a moment in silence, waiting with his back turned, until Gosunkugi got up and ran off down the alleyway. "Heh, that was actually almost as satisfying a fight would have been. Nabiki's gonna love it when I tell her about this. Judging by the smell, he even pissed himself!"

**

* * *

**

Akane sat on the couch, looking in the general direction of the TV but not actually watching it. Instead she replayed the day's events in her mind, hoping that she wasn't somehow turning into some kind of a pervert. Was Ranma rubbing off on her?

"Hey sis, how was your day? Get chased by any perverts?" asked Nabiki as she entered the room. Akane jerked very noticeably. "I know I sure did... guys, girls, heck, even my own sister! What a day!"

Akane began spouting an explanation at incredible speed, blushing furiously the entire while. "I didn't mean to, I mean, I just kind of had these weird thoughts all of a sudden, and then you ran, and everyone else ran, and I just had to chase you! I don't know why!"

Nabiki sat down next to her and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder until she had regained her breath, at which point she held out her hand expectantly. "1000 yen."

"For what? Forgiveness? Information? What?" asked Akane as she dug in her purse for the requested funds.

Nabiki said nothing until the money was in her hand, at which point she burst out laughing. "Sis, I've got you so trained! All I did was name a price and hold up my hand, and you forked over the cash without even knowing why!"

"Must. Fight. Urge. To. Kill." Akane chanted. When her efforts to calm down were thwarted by Nabiki's giggling, she demanded,"Give it back, then, before I have to hurt you."

"I'm home!" called Ranma, sounding much more cheerful than he had been in the last few days.

Nabiki pouted, but did slide away slightly. "Oh, calm down. In answer to your questions, the answer is both. I forgive you because it wasn't you, or anybody else in the chase's fault. Remember when Gosunkugi spilled that stuff on me? It was some kind of love potion he meant to use on you."

"You mean he wanted me to be chased down like that?" asked Akane in horror.

Ranma entered the room in time to hear the comment, and replied, "No, not exactly. He was going to take a bit of hair from you so that it would only affect you, and then spill it on himself."

"Like that's any better..." the youngest Tendo complained.

"And just how do you know that, Ranma? Cologne didn't tell us anything about how it would be used."

"Simple," he replied with a smirk. "He told me."

"You didn't beat him up, did you?" asked Akane with a scowl. "He's just a weakling, after all."

"You beat him up for me, right?" asked Nabiki hopefully.

He looked back and forth between the two Tendos for a moment, before answering, "Not really, no. Just bounced him off a few walls, scared him till he wet himself." Akane's scowl lessened. "Then I set it to only affect him, and tossed it off randomly into the city."

"Poetic justice, I like it," replied Nabiki. "But I'm not done with him yet, not by a long shot."

"You shouldn't have done that, Ranma," complained Akane. "I feel sorry for whoever that lands on."

"Relax, Akane. For all you know, it may not have hit anyone, or maybe it landed on some guy, or just a dog." He stopped for a moment, and thought before continuing. "Ok, so maybe it was kinda dumb, but even if it did get on somebody, it's not he could really do anything to them. Besides, it will only kick in if he smells it. He ran home, complaining about the cost of making an antidote for himself, so if that does happen he can always remove the potion's effects."

"I don't care, I still think it was funny," said Nabiki with a smile.

"Heck, if you're lucky he'll come to you for a loan," added Ranma with a chuckle.

"Wait a second... How come you weren't affected, Ranma?" asked Akane, still not happy about the situation.

Ranma didn't answer with anything more than a blush, but Nabiki spoke for him. "He was, Akane; he was just able to fight it off. I guess Ranma's built up a bit of a tolerance to love potions, as often as he gets hit with them."

"It did affect you?" said Akane, suspicious. "You had better not have done anything perverted to my sister, you jerk! You're bad enough as it is, but who knows how depraved you can get with something like that affecting you?"

Ranma froze up, but Nabiki was once again quick with the answer. "Don't worry sis, Ranma was a perfect gentleman, as always. He did nothing more than protect me from certain other perverts." She glanced at Akane meaningfully, who looked away quickly.

The room when silent for a moment, until Ranma stood up and stretched, making a big show of it. "Damn, hopping around all day sure is a hell of a lot more tiring than just running everywhere. I'm gonna go take a nap. Wake me for dinner, Nabiki?" he asked, starting up the stairs.

"Sure, no problem. Least I could do," she replied with a nod.

"Thanks," he said, mouthing 'for everything.'

"Your welcome, Ranma," she replied with a smile as she reached for the remote. "Perfect chance to apologize, sis," she whispered as she leaned close to Akane.

"Um, Ranma?" Akane began, "About yesterday?"

He stopped on the stairs for a moment, but did not turn to look at her. "What about it, Akane? I thought I pretty much spelled that out."

"I just," she fumbled with the words for a moment, "I'm, uh, sorry for what I said. Really."

"Are you?" he asked with a flat tone. "Or will you just fly off the handle again the next time something happens, just like you always do?"

"Really, I'm sorry," Nabiki nudged her. "I'll, um, try not to jump to conclusions about you again, Ranma. I promise, even."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you promise Kasumi something similar when I first got here? How long did you keep that promise, Akane? An hour, maybe?"

"I really mean it this time, honest!" she pleaded.

He looked down at her with an unreadable expression for a long moment before speaking. "Apology accepted... this time." He finished his climb without further comment.

Akane began to simmer. "Why did he say 'this time'? Is he still mad at me or something? Why did he ask Nabiki to wake him up, and not me? What the heck was he really trying to say at the end?"

Her head was spinning with questions, but it was obvious that she would get no answers here tonight. Frustrated, she decided to just work off her stress in the dojo... then promptly remembered that wasn't an option at the moment. Fuming now, she decided that the broken remains of the fallen dojo would do just a fine job of absorbing her anger, instead of the usual concrete bricks, just for today.

**

* * *

**

He was trapped in a small prison of stone, about four feet across, in absolute darkness. He searched franticly for a door, finding only a cold  
metal pole just above his head and strips of something hanging from it by metal hooks. The first felt like cloth, the next fur, and next... some sort of tanned flesh. "Where the hell am I now?" he bellowed, fearing that Hell was exactly where he was.

Just as he was about to try the Bakusai Tenketsu to free himself, light streamed in from behind him. "You are in the coat closet of the noble house of Kuno, traveling warrior, although I haven't the slightest conception of why you would indulge in exploring such a mundane location when other forms of entertainment abound."

"Uh, heh, I knew that. I was just looking for a place to put my backpack. It's not like I'm lost or anything," he explained, daring his benefactor to deny his story, or to make fun of him. He would be more than willing to pound the living shit out of the arrogant bastard...

"Indeed? A suitable notion. Come, noble warrior, I would be pleased if you would join me in a feast before our eminent defeat of the dreaded sorcerer, Saotome. I assure you, my sister prepares quite a refined spread of comestibles, and no doubt one as hearty as yourself can easily withstand the effects of her more... exotic spices."

"Yeah, sure. Food sounds good. I haven't had anything but my camp cooking in several days," he replied, following the kendoist carefully to the dining hall. He glanced around occasionally, but never far enough that Kuno left his peripheral vision, and marveled at the splendor of the home.

The floorboards were dark ancient cedar, polished to a bright luster and lay as straight as the day they were first cut. The interior walls were of the typical paper style, but each panel was finely decorated with watercolor images of samurai in armor standing proudly, all bearing the same crest, rolling plains of green, and even a majestic view of Mt. Fuji against the setting sun. The exterior walls were composed of solid blocks of granite, almost seamlessly joined and smooth to the touch.

Everywhere he looked he saw other signs of extravagance, from freshly cut roses marking several spots in obviously priceless vases, to the finely crafted cedar furniture and silver etched trim on the exposed timbers of the roof.

Never before had he seen such a place (well, at least not one that he was invited into), and he immediately felt a swelling of anger. "Such extravagant living, all the trappings of comfort and contentment that had always been denied him... these things would only make a warrior soft and weak. No wonder this dope always loses to Ranma," he reasoned.

The meal was one of the best he had ever tasted, although his limbs felt oddly stiff, somehow. The company, however... Well, the host he had gotten used to on the trip, and as such was not completely annoyed by his mindless prattle, but the father kept complaining about his hair and demanding he remove his headbands so he could shave it off. The sister was even worse, turning out to be none other that the same bitch that had chained him to Ranma in the middle of a fight, and repeatedly Akane had mentioned the girl as having attacked her. He ate his meal in silence, trying to avoid losing his temper while enjoying the Kunos' hospitality.

"After dinner and a bit of evening entertainment, would you care to join me in a friendly spar? The family Kuno has quite an impressive training facility, carved from the solid earthly foundations of the estate," commented his host as he finished his meal.

"I think we should go and find Ranma right now, not waste time," he replied with a scowl.

"Ah, but would it not be fitting for us to rest this eve, and to prepare for a glorious battle in the light of day, where others might perceive our victory for the predestined triumph of goodness that it is?" Tatewaki insisted.

"You want to wait around in you plush little castle, fine. I'm going now, and I don't want to hear any complaints from you when I beat him first." Ryoga stood up defiantly and turned to leave.

"This is foolishness. In the words of Sun Tsu...'If the General is unable to control his impatience and orders his troops to swarm up the wall like ants, one-third of them will be killed without taking the city,'" quoted Tatewaki gravely.

"I'm no general, we have no troops, and Ranma is no city, Kuno," replied Ryoga as he marched determinedly into the kitchen.

"Yes? What do you require, peasant guest of my idiot brother?" asked Kodachi, looking up from the dirty dishes she was moving to the washing machine as he entered.

"Uh, I just wanted to thank you for your dinner, and to, um, ask just how the heck I get out of here," he answered quietly.

"Ah, yes, now I remember you. The eternally Lost Boy, I believe my Ranma-sama called you." She smirked at his glower, but continued speaking.

"Follow me, if you must, but please don't touch anything."

She led him to the front door, and attempted to retrieve his backpack from the closet. Unable to lift it, she simply glared at him until he picked it up himself. "And here we are. The exit from the house grounds is directly down this path, which does not intersect any other. Do stay on it, and mind the land mines," she commented as she pushed him out and closed the door.

"Land mines?" he wondered out loud before starting down the path, keeping his eyes firmly rooted on the path in front of him. He wandered off into the cool night air, not daring even to blink as he followed the path.

**Author's notes:**

When I started writing this chapter, I felt kind of bogged down by the sheer amount of angst that the last two had presented. Hence, the usual Nerima Chaos comes back in this chapter to lighten the fic up a bit. The Kuno / Ryoga interlude was originally part of chapter 2, but was pulled because it just didn't fit the mood. Several pre-readers liked the scene (even if it didn't quite make sense originally), so it found a new home here.

In case anyone is concerned, the focus of this fic will not be comedy for any extended length of time. It will be used off and on, however, along with the occasional fight scene, to keep the drama and angst from reaching intolerable levels. It just wouldn't be a Ranma story if there were no laughs, fights, or romantic moments, would it?

For the curious, "insider" pre-readers have been briefed on the overall plotline, while "outsider" pre-readers are without such knowledge.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	4. Friction in the Machine: Act 2, pt 3

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero**

**Act 2: Friction in the Machine  
Part 3**

"Insider" Pre-readers:

Freak247  
Thermopyle  
Tonyloco

"Outsider" Pre-readers:

Goddess Esteria  
Grookill  
KpJam  
Nightman  
Ray DeVore  
Zorknot

**

* * *

**

"Okay, so we lost 140,000 yen on the high-risk technology..."

"Kiya!"

"...fund since the American incident, but the utilities went up and the blue chips turned out..."

"Kiya!"

"...more of a dividend than I expected. They look to be recovering slowly though, so that means..."

"Kiya!"

"...if I use the gains from the other holdings to buy it up while it's still cheap..."

"Kiya!"

The tirade of resonating shouts from outside, each followed by a loud, splintering crash, finally managed to dislodge the thought mid-sentence from Nabiki's mind. She closed her eyes tiredly and set her forehead on her desk, rubbing her temples in a futile attempt to alleviate the low, throbbing headache that Akane's latest 'training session' was causing. Idly she wondered just what had managed to get Akane so riled up this time that she could hear her actions even on the second floor, on the opposite side of the house.

With her train of thought derailed, Nabiki decided to give up working on the family finances until her younger sister's latest tantrum ended. With a sigh she saved her spreadsheet and turned off her laptop computer, an outdated model but still her most prized possession, and closed its screen with a sharp click. She used to take it everywhere, but since Ranma's arrival she had found it more prudent to keep her treasure locked safely away in her desk, lest random hi-jinks rob her of her prize. As she approached the stairs she met Kasumi, wearing a slightly-less-than-immaculate apron, just beginning the climb.

"Oh, Nabiki," the older girl said, slightly startled. "I was just coming to tell you that dinner is almost ready."

"Thanks, sis. I can't get any work done with all the racket outside anyway. I'll just go wake up Ranma, then, while you round up the rest of the herd," she replied.

"He's asleep again?" asked Kasumi with a hint of scorn. She closed her eyes and took a deliberately calming breath before continuing. "But he took a nap yesterday, and slept all night through as well."

"He's just recuperating, sis,"

With a patronizing smile on her face, she shook her head. "If you say so," Kasumi replied offhandedly as she turned, muttering as she left, "but I'd just as soon let him sleep through dinner as well."

Nabiki shrugged off her sister's oddly persistent bad mood and walked across the hall to the Saotomes' room, noting the odd flashes of light that shown through the cracks around the doorframe. She opened the door without knocking (she was expected, after all), but immediately froze, staring open-mouthed at the scene before her in a combination of awe and shock. Yes, even after living with Ranma for nearly two years now, some things were still capable of surprising her.

Ranma was still fast asleep, but it seemed that at some point he had become uncomfortable with his bedding, having abandoned both his blanket and bedroll. Not too unusual, except for the fact that he had apparently decided that he would be more comfortable if he hovered nearly two meters above the floor. Not only was he was hanging weightless in air, but his aura was blazing with an incredible display of brilliant light, bright yellow peeking through a shimmering black shroud of energy. He suddenly began moving his limbs as if desperately running despite his horizontal posture, and cried out, "Get them off of me!" in what she could only assume was raw terror.

His unconscious plea, through sheer clarity of intent, managed to overcome Nabiki's initial shock. She rushed across the room and hesitantly reached through the aura, feeling a tingle of static electricity and a slight chill of raw fear shoot through her hand and up her arm. She shook him by the arm until his eyes flew open suddenly to stare at her. He sucked in his breath and held her gaze for one long instant before gravity resumed control and slammed him into the floorboards at her feet.

"Any survivors?" she asked, taking a knee next to him. "I know weird stuff happening around you is just par for the course, but seeing you flying in your sleep is something new altogether, Ranma."

"Huh?" Ranma asked, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up. He stared at her for a moment while the words tried to sink into his brain, blinked twice, and said, "Uh, can you repeat that?"

She glanced downward to collect her thoughts for a moment, but the sight of Ranma sitting before her in only his boxers made that somewhat more difficult. Her eyes traced fine paths along his smoothly toned stomach, around his chiseled pectorals, along his collarbone, and up his neck to focus on his thick, inviting lips. So very close...

"Nabiki?"

She flushed slightly, looking away from his under-dressed form sharply. "You were flying. You know, defying the laws of nature and such."

"Flying?"

She felt the redness of her cheeks lessen, and turned back to face him. "Well, more like hovering I suppose, about two meters off the floor. You also had a sort of halo blazing around you in yellow and black, like you and Ryoga occasionally do in your fights." she clarified with the aid a few hand gestures.

"So it was a chi effect?" he puzzled. "I know what yellow is..." he noted, uncomfortably, "but black? Hmmm, maybe it's similar to the way Herb flew with his chi. No, that was a white light... Crap, I wish I had a gotten a better look at that technique of his..."

"That aura of yours was kinda creepy," continued Nabiki. "Come to think of it, it looked a lot like what Gosunkugi described the other day: Huge and black, with another color underneath it. At least you didn't damage the floor this time," she noted, feeling along the floorboards lazily.

"I still haven't figured out how I did it the first time," he muttered. "It counters Hinako's drain, it lets me fly... just what have I tapped into? I've just gotta figure it out, if only for the sheer potential it has. Maybe it's because I went to sleep while projecting my aura to speed up my healing?"

"I just watched for a moment, but then you started screaming so I decided to help out," she continued, ignoring his babbling and martial arts jargon. "Let me guess... Cats?"

"Yeah, I had that same damned dream again. It's been the same dream over and over again ever since I killed Saffron," Ranma explained with a sigh, turning his face away.

"Ranma, you killed someone. A god, even. That's bound to affect your sleep for a while at least, if only to even out your karma." Nabiki put a hand lightly on his shoulder, idly noticing that she couldn't tell which one was injured recently, even with his shirt off. "Would it help to talk about it? I won't even charge you for the impromptu therapy session this time."

He turned to face her, glancing at her hand but making no move to remove it. "No, you don't understand. Saffron isn't even in the dream. None of you are, either, except for just these calling voices. It's just me in the woods alone, and then the c...cats, and then there's this weird guy who says things I don't want to hear, and I can't get away from him."

"So who is it, Ranma? What does he say?" she asked, setting down cross-legged in front of him.

Ranma looked away from her eyes and toward his injured ankle, examining its healing progress as he sputtered out a reply. "I don't know who he is... but he seems somehow familiar. I don't think I've ever met him, but something in me seems to feel slightly... drawn to him. Really creeps me out. I can't remember what he was saying, but it was definitely not something good."

"Well, what were you doing?" she asked, "in this dream, when you met the guy? What form were you in at the time?"

"I was a guy, which is really weird considering it was raining."

Receiving no obvious help from the situation, Nabiki tried to concentrate on Ranma's interpretation. "You said you felt drawn to him, and that he said things you don't want to hear... Ranma, are you sure you don't remember, or do you just not want to remember?"

"No, I don't... Wait, what are you trying to say? It wasn't a gay thing, all right! I'm not like that! Hell, what happened on the roof should  
prove that to you well enough!"

The vehemence in his denial was rather unexpected. "I didn't say anything about being gay, Ranma, but I am curious as to why that is the first thing that came to your mind."

"It's probably just because while I was at Ucchan's Mikado Sanzenin showed up and kissed Konatsu. Damned faggots."

Nabiki stared at him for a moment before responding, "You know, studies suggest that those with homophobic issues are more likely to actually be closet homosexuals themselves. The potion seemed to affect everyone, not just those who would normally be attracted to me. At least I hope so, in Akane's case..."

"Look, just lay off the gay stuff already!" he said, scooting away from her. "It wasn't like that! It was more like he was somehow related to me, or like I was somehow destined to meet him... Kind of a gut-level sorta thing."

"...Just a cigar, huh?" she replied with an unreadable grin as she rose to her feet. "All right, I'll stop bugging you about it for now. Hurry up and get dressed, sleepyhead. Dinner is waiting."

**

* * *

**

"After all the shit I went through today for her, now she starts trying to tell me I'm a fag? She's the one who held off on that kiss, not me..." complained in the relative safety of his own head while he scoured his room for a clean shirt. "Better to just forget that I guess, before I get into any more trouble with Akane."

Ranma finished dressing and hopped downstairs, estimating it would still be a day or two until his ankle was back at one hundred percent. Shallow cuts, bruises, and light burns he could heal in hours, but other injuries still took time even with the aid of his family's secret chi healing technique. His father's teachings weren't completely useless after all, just mostly.

He took his usual seat at the table. His father was in the middle of a lively discussion over the plans for rebuilding the dojo: Soun wanted it exactly the way it was before, Genma thought a larger floor, higher ceiling, and several points to affix portable obstructions and fake trees would be better for training in the Anything-Goes style. Nabiki sat across the table, listening to the discussion with calculator in her hand and a frown on her face, noting the results in a small notebook. Akane walked in and sat next to him while still drying her hair from a bath, looking a bit worn out. Lastly, but most importantly, Kasumi came in from the kitchen carrying steaming bowls of rice, chicken, and vegetables.

As Kasumi dished out the food Nabiki asked Akane, "Did you manage to work through your temper tantrum with all that racket?"

"It wasn't a tantrum," Akane replied as she chose her chopsticks, "I was cleaning up the remaining debris and doing some training at the same time."

"Really? Maybe there's hope for you yet." Ranma said in a mocking tone.

Akane growled at him, but turned her attention to the food laid before her.

"Training... it sounded to me like you were just breaking it up. Nothing new there, Akane" said Nabiki coyly, "and your brick breaking has always been more about blowing off steam than any kind of real training."

Akane was ready to yell a reply, but Soun spoke up first. "All three of you, stop it. I want no more arguing tonight."

"But she..." Akane began.

"Quiet!" Soun demanded. "I've had a headache all day, and arguing with Genma over the dojo's new floor plans has tried my patience for the evening. No more."

Genma opened his mouth as if to say something, but wisely decided to stuff it with food instead.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, with Genma and Ranma actually eating in a somewhat normal fashion, until Kasumi broke the silence. "So how was your day at school?"

Akane blushed and studied her food even harder. Ranma looked at her for a moment but Nabiki spoke up immediately. "Oh, nothing too unusual. A magic potion caused a pervert stampede, but Ranma saved me. Oh, and I got an A on my calculus quiz."

"That's nice," replied Kasumi going back to her dinner.

Ranma, reaching for a second helping, elaborated. "Gosunkugi was up to some scheme to get Akane, but he goofed and got Nabiki instead. So, I had to rescue her and took her to Cologne for a cure. Oh, and I took care of Hikaru already... gave him a bit of his own medicine" he stated proudly.

"That's nice," replied Kasumi without looking up.

"Huh?" he responded to her lack-luster comment.

Kasumi looked up at him with a sharp gaze. "I said that's nice. You managed to indirectly cause some trouble, prevent the new complication from doing any real harm after sufficient chaos had ensued, come out looking like the hero yet again to pump your over-inflated ego, and then sleep off the majority of the afternoon while the rest of us have work to do." Kasumi went back to her dinner, waving her index finger in a circular motion. "Hooray for you."

Ranma slammed his chopsticks flat on the table, bringing everyone up short. "Kasumi, what exactly is your problem lately?"

"I said there would be no arguing tonight!" Soun commanded.

"I ain't arguing, I'm just asking a question," Ranma replied coolly. "If anything, I'm acting to remove an existing argument that has gone on far too long already."

"My problem?" Kasumi asked with feigned innocence. "Ranma, you're the only problem here."

"Ranma, prepare to die!"

He immediately sprang away from the table to land in a one-footed combat stance and simultaneously avoid the attack that he knew was coming. He looked rather silly for a moment, staring at the table when nothing happened to the spot he had just been sitting in. He imagined he looked even sillier when Ryoga landed a solid kick to his back while his attention was focused elsewhere, launching him over the table, through the door, and into the yard where he landed in a heap.

**

* * *

**

Ryoga stepped out into the yard and dumped his backpack unceremoniously onto the grass as Ranma hopped back up to a one-footed standing position.

"That was a cheap shot, Ryoga," Ranma stated as he brushed off his shirt.

"Hey, it isn't my fault if you've become a little predictable." He replied with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles.

"Can't this wait a bit? I was kinda in the middle of something," Ranma asked, not assuming a stance but remaining alert.

"I was kind of in the middle of my life when you decided to interrupt, Ranma. It's only fair I get to return the favor, I'd say." Ryoga pulled his red combat umbrella out of its straps on the top of the backpack, and advanced at a slow pace.

"You might have noticed the crutch? I'm not up for a friendly spar today, Ryoga, but if you insist I'll put you down hard and fast so I can get back to dinner."

"Oh, widdle Wanma has a boo-boo? Fine then, I'll give you a handicap." He removed two bandanas from his forehead and tied them together, then proceeded to tie his left ankle to the back of his thigh, leaving him similarly balanced on one foot. "Anything else you want to bitch about, or can I kick your ass now?"

"Why are you even here? I thought you were going to Akari's place," Ranma asked, still puzzled.

"That's none of your damned business!" Ryoga bounded towards his foe, opening and tossing his umbrella to the side as he approached.

Ranma ducked and rolled out of the way of Ryoga's punch and turned toward umbrella, approaching on its return path. He pointed one hand at it, and with a burst of chi it was reduced to ash. "Come on, Ryoga! These tired old techniques are a joke now! What's next, you gonna throw a bunch of those bandanas at me again?"

Ryoga was almost shaking in fury both from the all-too-familiar taunts that rang just a little too close to the truth for his comfort and the destruction of his property. "Do you know how long I'll have to save up to buy another one of those? Shi-Shi Hokodan!"

Ranma only smirked as the bluish purple ball approached him, which he hoped over and responded with a flare of orange light at close range large enough to completely cover Ryoga's field of vision. "Ask me if I care," he remarked as the blast knocked Ryoga several feet to land on his back towards the front of the house, next to the gate.

"That really hurt!" Ryoga marveled as he forced himself to stand up off of the suddenly oh-so-comfortable lawn. "Since when did Ranma have this kind of power? Sure, he beat Saffron, but that was just a punk with a glass jaw, and even then he only won because of luck and that magical staff, right?"

"Are we done already? Good, my father might not have eaten everything yet."

Ryoga sprang up with a snarl, but as he did he noticed the lack of a dojo on the other side of the house where he thought it was supposed to be. He could always be wrong, though.

"Damn you, Ranma! I wasn't planning on revealing this yet as I haven't fully tested it, but you've left me no choice! Beware my new technique, Resshin Ki-Ken!" Ryoga's aura blazed as he punched the ground between Ranma and himself, his fist enshrouded with blue light. Immediately the ground began exploding as if he had used his normal Bakusai Tenketsu, but the blast began to expand outwards in a cone towards Ranma, the explosions and the rocks blasted free, growing larger as the cone widened. He looked up from his attack, and smiled at the widening swath of destruction rolled forward.

Ryoga's grin faltered, however, when rather than panicking or even looking slightly shocked, Ranma simply hopped twice toward the blast and to the side, nonchalantly picking the few small stones that flew towards him out of the air as the twenty meter long blast moved harmlessly by. "That's your new secret technique, huh? Wow, combining the Shi-Shi Hokodan with the Bakusai Tenketsu... very original. I only thought that up eight or nine months ago. Good name, though."

Ryoga's speech stumbled with his disbelief and rage. "You liar, Cologne never taught you the technique! I'd have noticed the difference if she had!"

"Who said anything about the old ghoul teaching me? Hell, I learned it just watching you and Shampoo using it all the time," Ranma explained as he leaned against the wall carelessly. "Besides, I don't want the smashed-with-big-rocks treatment. You may have gotten tougher, but your speed sure took a hit in return, Ryoga."

"I know you're lying because you never used it before, not even when you fought Herb or Saffron!" Ryoga answered as he stood up, breaking the bandanas that held his left leg easily to stand rooted on both legs.

"I didn't use it on Herb because it's a stupid move and easily avoidable, and I was kind of in the air the entire fight with Saffron, so anything using the earth as weapon was kind of out, idiot." Ranma stood away from the wall and turned towards the door. "Look, if that's all you have to show me, I'll be going back in now. See ya around."

"That bastard!" Ryoga seethed. "No matter what I do, he's always one step ahead, some way to counter or use my techniques against me! What's wrong with me? Why am I so worthless? Why don't I just go off and die somewhere?" He looked to the blast he had caused earlier, then to Ranma's unguarded back. With a howl of desperation he burst into green flames, and then slammed both fists into the earth.

Ranma paused to stare at his hands as he suddenly was enveloped in a black-lined aura, but was shaken from his thoughts as Ryoga cried out "Bai Resshin Ki-Ken!" Summoning up his chi as he took to the air, Ranma leapt directly over the moving field of destruction and pointed his widely-spread fingers in a round arc towards the front of the blast. With a cry of "Bakusai Rei Hari", narrow beams of force shot from each of Ranma's fingertips to lance into the un-shattered ground and explode in a half circle of 10 small, precise explosions. The rolling mass of exploding earth collided with the explosions on all sides of it's advancing edges, and although cracks spread beyond the point of collision, the explosive effect stopped.

"What... What the hell was that?" Ryoga demanded as Ranma stood with his back still towards him, still glowing that ominous black, watching the dust settle. He suddenly felt very tired, far more than the projection of chi should have left him. Wait a second... since when does Ranma have a black aura?

Ranma turned halfway around with a single hop and glared at Ryoga coldly. "That would have taken out the house, Ryoga, so I stopped it with one of my other special moves derived from the Bakusai Tenketsu. You know, since you seem so damned eager to show me your moves, how about if I show you a few of my latest creations as a reward for being such an idiot?" Ranma began hopping about as he spoke, with a flare of red and black energy spiking from his uninjured foot with each bounce. "How about we start with the Emkaku Tenketsu Dan? Won't that be fun?"

Ryoga was about to respond, but before he could his whole world turned upside down as the ground beneath his feet exploded in a fountain of stone. He wasn't injured by the blast, but he was somewhat dazed and was thrown a few meters. The second blast, again from directly beneath him, however, did sting a bit. After the seventh he was getting rather sore, and when the twelfth and final blast threw him directly into Ranma's waiting one-handed grasp, he was ready to admit defeat... though very reluctantly, of course.

Faced with the reality of just how much he had underestimated his rival, Ryoga grudgingly admitted that he had no real chance. "I give up… for now."

Ranma lifted him a bit higher, and, with a cruel smile, said, "Oh? But we've just reached today's final lesson. Do try to hold out a little longer, Ryoga. I wouldn't want you to miss the Ryuujin Kenma Koku."

He felt himself tossed high into the air, and, looking down as he tumbled, he vaguely noticed that the twelve blast craters had formed two parallel lines of alternating craters between Ranma and the outer wall of the compound. He was still wondering at the coincidence when he fell in line with Ranma's fists, moving in opposing circling directions, and two impacts of vastly different temperature struck him.

He realized his peril in the instant the hot and cold waves met, and a funnel of wind tossed him horizontally towards the far wall, all along the way battering him with the loose rocks freed from the earth by the previous technique. The world went black for Ryoga, but somehow he vaguely knew that he hadn't even hit the wall yet.

**

* * *

**

"I wouldn't want you to miss the Ryuujin Kenma Koku," he snarled. Ranma tossed Ryoga into the air with one hand, gathering chi into each of his palms separately. First hot, anger-fueled energy into his left hand, then put cold chi into his right by reaching through his anger to an icy hate. He began to rotate them in opposite directions without letting the trailing lines of force touch, and as Ryoga fell into alignment he crossed the paths and punched him with both clenched fists. As planned, the resulting cyclone threw Ryoga across the yard into the wall and then smashed him from behind with the loosened rocks, leaving only a small mound of rubble with one arm sticking out on top.

"Ranma, what the hell have you done!"

He turned to find the Tendo family standing in the doorway with various reactions. Soun was enraged, and he could feel the slight traces of chi that would become the 'demon head' already beginning to gather. Akane looked worried, but kept looking back and forth between him and the pile of rubble, unsure of whom to help first. Nabiki was gazing about the yard with a cool, calculating gaze, her eyes pausing for a moment on each crater. Kasumi stood next to her father, whispering something into his ear. His father, standing towards the rear behind Soun and Akane seemed to be... no, he was definitely trying to hide behind them, but staring directly at him.

"Answer me young man!"

As predicted, Soun did indeed deploy his fear technique, but to no effect as Ranma studiously ignored him in favor of studying the sudden flaring of his black aura. With a smirk, he decided to test a theory, raising a hand and pointing to see if it could be made to drain Soun as it had Ms. Hinako. No sooner did he think about it than the 'demon head' dissipated and his aura briefly flared. Akane saw this and apparently decided that Ryoga needed her help more at the moment, leaving the doorway to rush towards the rubble. Genma, seeing one of his defenders leave him, made an effort to sneak away quietly into the house.

"He attacked me for no reason, and I defended myself. What more is there to explain?" replied Ranma brashly.

Soun sagged slightly, leaning on Kasumi for a moment, but was not to be dissuaded from his anger. "The yard, Ranma! Look what you've done to my yard, plants, and wall!"

"First the dojo and now the grounds... will you destroy our home as well before the week is finished?" demanded Kasumi.

"The house? I just defended your house from a clumsy attack by that moron!" he exclaimed, pointing a thumb towards an unconscious Ryoga as Akane unburied him. "The dojo was more his fault than mine, too, and the same with the yard now. If you want to toss around some blame, just wait till he wakes up."

"Ranma, we all saw the end of that fight. I don't know how you did it, but you have to admit that you are responsible for at least some of these craters." Nabiki added, "Couldn't you have beaten him without the explosions?"

The black aura was fading quickly, and with it, his temper gave way to more rational conversation. "Okay, I admit I got a little carried away there at the end, but the rest of it was all Ryoga's fault."

Kasumi chose this moment to speak up. "Ryoga's fault? Maybe, but then whose fault is it that he came here looking for a fight in the first place, Ranma? It always comes back to you, either directly or because of something you set in motion years ago."

"Yes, it does appear that way," added Soun. "This is the final straw, Ranma. Engagement or no, I want you out of my house until you have dealt with all of your... complications, male and female."

"But dad, you can't just kick him out in his condition," Nabiki began, pointing toward the remains of the Bai Resshin Ki-Ken. "And look at this blast pattern, he obviously is telling the truth about the house."

"I can, and I have, daughter. Ranma has proven tonight that he is more than capable of taking care of himself even with his injury." Thunder rolled in the sky above.

"Fine then, I'll just gather my things and be on my way," Ranma announced, hopping forward.

Soun stood defiantly in the doorway with his arms crossed, blocking his path. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. I'll send Akane and Nabiki to school early tomorrow with a change of clothes for you."

"Keeping my rightful property from me again, Tendo?" Ranma asked as Akane approached with Ryoga in a fireman's carry. She glanced at him with sympathy, but continued on her way without comment. "This is becoming a common theme."

Soun moved aside to allow Akane in, then ushered Nabiki in as well, who complied reluctantly. "Not at all, Ranma. I simply think it prudent to insure you have a reason to return, rather than simply running out on yet another engagement."

"You think that I would do something like that?" Ranma demanded.

Soun stepped inside and shut the door, replying as he closed it, "I know your father might, which is reason enough to suspect the same of you, Ranma."

The latch clicked shut, the porch light went off, and Saotome Ranma was left standing alone in the night air as the first drops of rain began to fall.

**

* * *

**

It was a bright and sunny day, and the sky was an impossibly rich swath of blue dotted with wisps of soft clouds like windswept bits of stray cotton fibers. The grass was tall and green, and it tickled her ankles as she ran barefoot in a white sundress towards her mother, Akane not far behind. They reached the blanket, breathless from their run but still smiling, as Mother and Kasumi set the food out for a picnic lunch and Father finished assembling a bright red plastic kite with a long yellow ribbon tail. She sat down to rest a moment and to examine her newfound prize, a golden-yellow sunflower as big as her head, as Akane dashed off with Father to try out his creation.

Nabiki recognized the dream immediately, a child's abstract recollection of one of the happiest days of her life, a Sunday picnic with her family when she was seven. She often dreamed of it, the last Tendo family outing before mother started getting sick, but somehow being lucid during the experience ruined the effect completely for her.

The mundane events continued around her, and she played her part, but her mind was drawn back to the present, wondering where Ranma was tonight.

The exaggerated taste of a sweet custard pie brought her back in time to the dream, but did not remove Ranma from her thoughts. "If she was seven then he was six, and that meant... my god, he could have been in the middle of the cat fist training while I was relaxing in the sun."

A crack of thunder shattered the peace of the dream, and looking up from the flower she spied in the distance a dark forest where before there was only an endless sea of gently rolling grass-covered hills. The sky was now overcast and gray, the air slightly cool, and the grass grew pale and sickly. The flower in her hand rotted away to dust as she stood up and marched towards the woods, ignoring her family as they continued to laugh and play as though the world was still a friendly place.

She followed a foggy, twisting trail through the thick bramble and imagined that the sound of the wind in the branches was like a quiet,

familiar whisper. She walked for what seemed like ages, growing to her true age as she traveled, until she heard a scream of terror echo down the trail from just a bit farther into the forest. She ran down the trail now, stumbling across roots and rocks, but not allowing herself to fall.

The fog thinned out as she barged into a sheltered clearing, and blanched at what she saw there. Ranma, six years old and helpless, was held upside down by one ankle, his injured one, above a rough earthen pit by a tall, thin man with grayish, corpselike skin and a dark flowing robe. "Would you will yourself back into the pit just to avoid this conversation? How many times must we play this game before you pay attention?" the stranger asked. "The change is coming soon, young one, and you must be prepared for it or it could destroy you!"

"No, not the pit again! Please, just leave me alone!" Ranma begged, his young eyes locked on the shifting darkness beneath him in undisguised terror.

"Leave him alone!" she commanded, making her presence known to the two. "If you want to tell him something, you would get far better results by simply talking than with threats, whoever you are."

The man tossed Ranma aside with disgust and turned to regard her. "To willingly enter this nightmare and show the courage to become an active participant is commendable, though perhaps foolish. Still, it doesn't forgive your complete misunderstanding of the situation." He turned to Ranma, who was busily untangling himself from a thorn bush, and announced, "I'm not sure how you brought her here, Ranma, but rest assured we shall continue this later, in private. I have a duty to perform, and soon enough you shall have one of your own."

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Nabiki demanded, pushing through the almost tangible fear this... man was causing in her just by looking at her.

"Such irony... the guardian asks the questions she was summoned to help him avoid. Still, the rules are quite clear; it is not for your kind to know who I am, nor what my interests are, mortal, but you may refer to me for now as Norou Mizumei." With that, he closed his cloak around himself and evaporated into shadow and mist.

She turned to check on Ranma, but a sudden, irresistible force seemed to grab both of them and drag them away from each other, warping the world around them as they passed. "Nabiki!" he called again and again as he vanished into the distance, "Nabiki!"

"Nabiki!"

Reality reasserted itself as her eyes sprang open, and glorious sunlight peeked through her window to stab her eyes. With a groan she rolled over and hit her alarm clock, which had not yet rung, and then attempted to burrow deeper into her covers.

The covers were yanked out of her grasp, however, and she was roughly shaken by the shoulder. "Get up, Nabiki!"

"G'way, 'Kane. Too e'rly," She mumbled, rolling into a tight ball on her naked bed.

The insistent hand of her sister left her shoulder, only to be replaced with a soft, gentle one playing with her hair. A wisp of hot breath played over her neck and a deep, throaty voice whispered in her ear, "Tendo Nabiki, I would ravish thee and claim thee my own."

She was wide-awake in an instant, bolting completely off of her bed to land wide-eyed across the room, still clutching her pillow. A quick glance around the room revealed a wildly laughing Akane to be the only other person present.

"Damn it, Akane, don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she yelled, throwing the pillow at Akane and catching her square in the nose in an unguarded moment.

"If you could have seen your face..." Akane trailed off, trying to control her laughter. "But at least you're up finally. Come on, we have to get to school early today to meet up with Ranma."

"We? You have to meet up with your fiancé; I'm just going to class as usual," Nabiki replied, annoyed. Akane just shrugged and left with a careless smile, leaving her to dress as she grumbled about morning people.

**

* * *

**

They left the house nearly an hour earlier than normal, walking the distance to the school in an uneasy state of silence. It was amazing what a difference an hour made to the look and feel of Nerima, now gray, quiet, lonely, and a bit unsettling as opposed to the busy people and crowded streets Akane was accustomed to seeing.

Nabiki was still angry about the way in which she had woken up, she expected, judging by the icy silence that she had offered throughout breakfast. She hadn't even made a comment when P-Chan was found rummaging through the kitchen for food or when they discovered that Ryoga must have gotten lost some time in the night and wandered off.

"Akane?"

She paused and turned to regard her sister, replying, "It speaks?"

"God, you're going to think I'm crazy, but," Nabiki hesitated, which was very uncommon for her, "do you believe that dreams can mean something?"

"What, like a vision of the future?" Nabiki nodded. "Nah. I think that if dreams mean anything it is about things in the present you aren't aware of consciously, or things in the past you haven't dealt with. Why? Weird dream last night?"

"Weird doesn't seem to cover it," Nabiki replied, going back to the original question. "You really don't believe it's possible, even considering all the weird stuff that happens around here?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't believe half of the stuff that's happened to me personally, much less things that haven't," Akane admitted. "I guess a dream could be prophetic, but I'd have to have one before I believed it, and even then I'd probably chalk it up to coincidence."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Nabiki replied, looking a bit relieved. "I most likely only had that dream because Ranma told me about his right before dinner and I somehow absorbed parts of it subconsciously."

"You had a dream about Ranma?" she asked, looking quizzically at Nabiki. "Nothing too exotic, I hope. Can't have you getting ideas about my fiancé, sis."

"Nothing like that... honestly, you are so possessive of him," Nabiki remarked in a haughty tone.

"Damn straight I am, and don't you forget it," Akane replied with a bit of humor, but with a hard undertone nonetheless, as they reached the school gates. "Alright, where the hell is... Ranma!" she yelled, dropping her bag to dash towards the school doors.

Nabiki picked up the dropped bag and followed after her, finding a petite redhead curled up in the doorway, shivering, with her clothes soaked completely through to the skin. Akane took off her jacket and draped it over Ranma, rubbing it roughly to warm her up.

"Did you actually spend the night here?" asked Nabiki, helping to get Ranma up on her feet. "Why didn't you go to Ukyo, or Shampoo, or one of your friends' houses?"

"I don't feel quite... comfortable around Ucchan's right now, Shampoo and Cologne would have drugged me and hauled me off to China by now, and I, um, don't really know where Hiroshi or Daisuke live," she answered a bit meekly. "I had hoped I could sneak in and use the showers to warm up, but the place was locked up tight and I figured I shouldn't destroy anything else last night."

Akane looked away guiltily, but said nothing.

"I figured that at least it wasn't raining under the overhang here, and I had to be here today anyway, so why not? I mean, I sure would have preferred to at least have my tent last night, but your dad thought otherwise." Ranma turned to regard Akane. "Would have been nice if my fiancée had stood up for me just a little bit, too, but I guess that's too much to ask. I mean, she didn't say anything at all about it being my fault, she just didn't argue in my favor."

Akane immediately replied to the barb, shouting, "I didn't say anything because I agreed with him! I know Ryoga started that fight, but it is your fault, just like Kasumi said. I don't think he should have thrown you out, but that's the only place where my opinion differs. Ranma, you have got to do something about these rivals and fiancées of yours before the situation gets even worse, or we'll never be able to have a normal marriage."

"Gee, ya think I should? What would you suggest I do, ask em all nicely to just bug off?" she snapped.

"I'd suggest you stop yelling and get inside before you catch a cold, Mr. Saotome," interrupted Ms. Hinako as she walked up the steps in her child-sized yellow rubber raincoat and boots. She walked to the door and unlocked it, holding it wide open for the teens to enter, but never taking her eyes off of Ranma.

"Here, Ranma, go and get warmed up," said Nabiki as they entered and removed their shoes. She handed over a paper bag full of clothing which

Ranma eagerly accepted, then watched her run, not hop, down the hallway towards the men's gym, yelling out her thanks as an afterthought.

"I thought he had a torn ligament," Hinako noted, puzzled.

"So did I," replied Akane.

"Well, that's Ranma for you, never one to be held down by the limits of his own humanity," Nabiki answered, walking toward the stairs.

**

* * *

**

After a long, hot shower and a change of clothes, Ranma felt like a whole new man. This physical comfort, combined with the fact that his ankle had healed overnight, even faster than he expected, was enough of a positive swing in his luck that he momentarily felt pretty good despite recent events. He sauntered into class four minutes early, a personal record, and slumped into his seat for his usual morning nap.

"Well you certainly look better, Ranma. I'm surprised you didn't catch a cold."

He opened one eye to regard Akane with a skeptical glance, and then went back to trying to sleep. "I've had worse. I grew up on the road, so why should one night homeless bother me?"

"Got kicked out again, Ranchan? What for this time?" asked Ukyo from behind him.

This time he kept his eyes closed while answering, hoping in vain that they would catch the hint. "Yeah, just the same old stuff. Ryoga dropped by and I kicked his ass, but Mr. Tendo got mad about what we did to his yard. He said I can't come back until..." something in the back of his screamed a warning, and for once he listened. "Well, for a damn long while."

He paused for a moment, turning towards Akane. "How is the moron, anyway? I didn't kill him, did I?"

"Well, we put him in your room to rest," Ranma glowered, but she continued, "but he must have been okay because he left sometime in the middle of the night. Oh, and P-Chan is back!"

"That's typical," Ranma stated. "I'm on the street and the pig has two beds to sleep in."

Ukyo broke in before Akane could reply. "Why didn't you come over to my place, Ranchan? I wouldn't mind putting you up for a while."

"Uh," Ranma began, fidgeting slightly, "Well, it was kinda late to be dropping by, and I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience or nothin'..."

"...And you didn't want to be around Konatsu," said Ukyo, finishing the unspoken part of his sentence. "You think I didn't notice how fast you bolted after that little scene? Honestly, sugar, you can be such an insensitive jerk sometimes."

"What about Konatsu?" asked Akane.

"All right everyone, in your seats," called Ms. Hinako as she entered the room. "Let's see, I believe today we were going to be discussing second impact..."

"Again?" asked a wiry, nameless teen with dark eyes next to the windows.

Ranma was pondering exactly why it was Ms. Hinako thought it best to teach them about things she saw in her favorite anime shows, rather than anything practical or even remotely relevant to history (what first period was supposed to be, anyway), when the intercom blared to life. "Saotome Ranma, you bad keiki, need be comin' to da Big Kahuna's office!"

"Sure, why not?" he muttered as he stretched and then rose from his chair. "It's not like I've got anything better to do."

At a leisurely pace, he made his way down to Principal Kuno's basement office and slouched into the wicker chair that sat waiting for him on the beach. "So what do you want?" he asked bluntly as the principal, who had yet to notice him, finished trimming the leaves of a large coconut tree.

"Aha, you be comin' much fasta den me expect, keiki. Good, no hafta go look'n fo ya, den," he said as he climbed down the tree into a large canvas hammock. "You know, keiki, you always being one o' my favorite students..."

"Is there a point to me being here?" asked Ranma bluntly.

"I no be wantin' nothin' from ya, jus' have ta be givin' ya da messages, see?" he replied defensively, waving his arms in large gestures.

"Messages?" Ranma asked, curious. "Okay, what are they?"

"Well, I be havin' two fo' ya," he confessed, "one good, one not so good. Which you wan' hear first?"

Well, it would take a lot to top what's happened in the last few days. "Um, bad I guess."

"Well, dat message be from the school board. Dey be seein' yo attendance record, and say you missin' too many o' de school days, and leavin' early on most o' de rest." The principal paused and removed his glasses, giving Ranma a stern but remorseful look as he finished, "You is bein' expelled, keiki."

"Expelled!" Ranma jumped across the distance between them and pulled the principal from his hammock by the neck, throttling him. "Are you out of your mind? Not one of those absences was my fault! I sure as hell didn't want to be here but I came everyday unless some deranged nut-ball demanded my attention. Come to think of it, your family is responsible for more than a few of those instances!"

"Ahk! Ke...Keiki, you no be hearin' da g...good one yet..." he struggled to reply.

Ranma stopped choking him, but did not release his grip. "Good for me, or good for you?" he asked with a hard tone.

"Ah, good fo' both, I be thinkin'!" he replied as he sat up and rubbed his throat. "Be gettin' ya back in de school, be makin' me little 'dachi happy, and be saving yo' parents a mess o' trouble."

"I'm listening."

"See, da board be expellin' a Saotome Ranma, but dey ain't be sayin' nothin' bout a Kuno Ranma!" he explained excitedly.

"Huh?" was the only reply that came to mind.

"Oh, don't mind him, Ranma Darling. I can explain it all so much clearer than he with that dreadful accent." Above him, Kodachi was lounging

on a tree branch, dressed in her proper uniform rather than the leotard for once. She leapt down from the branch to land in a short bow before him, then stepped closer to trace her fingers along his jaw.

He pulled her hands away but did not step back. "I'm still listening."

"Oh, it is the best news!" she began cheerfully. "It seems that quite some time ago your father made a substantial loan from one of our banks."

"Your banks?"

"You no be tinkin' we be livin' da high life on de school salary, do you bruddah?" asked the principal in a patronizing tone.

"Ahem." Kodachi cleared her throat while glaring at her father, who looked away for something else to do. "Yes, dearest, the Kuno family's wealth comes mostly from our real estate dealings, but a substantial portion of our finances originate with the chain of banks we own."

"Okay," Ranma replied, "whatever. Just get to the point."

"Well, your father took out a substantial loan almost sixteen years ago in order to finance a... training trip, I believe the records say, a loan which he has failed to repay by the deadline, yesterday."

"That's not surprising," he answered.

Kodachi smirked and continued, "Well, under normal circumstances we would simply take him to court, but in this case there is a complication dealing with the nature of the collateral he put up against the loan: You, in fact, as an arranged husband for me."

"That's not surprising either, to be honest," Ranma admitted with a sigh. "Just how long have you know about this, Kodachi, just out of curiosity?"

"Oh, for a while now," she answered as she tiptoed closer to him. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep it a secret until the engagement was official, how many nights I spent alone knowing that my patience would eventually pay off."

"If you knew about this, why did you keep trying to blackmail, drug, or otherwise coerce me into being with you?" he asked, holding his ground but keeping a sharp eye on her.

"I suppose I simply couldn't stand to sit back and do nothing while those other harlots abused you so, Ranma darling." She reached out to embrace him, but Ranma stepped away from her grasp.

"You do realize that I'm already engaged three times over, right?" he asked, hoping to dissuade her from this fantasy. "Then again," he wondered aloud, "does another fiancée even make a difference at this point?"

"Hey, what you be sayin' der, bruddah?"

"Hold, Fiend! While I may have rashly given my consent to this unholy pairing, it shall have to wait until my divine vengeance has been fulfilled!"

Faced with the entire Kuno clan at once, and not sure whether beating up on any of them would still be a reasonable action considering this new information, Ranma did the only sensible thing... he ran like hell.

**

* * *

**

He stood, tall and majestic in his countenance, directly before the gates of the school so that none might pass outside of his gaze, as he waited for the arrival of his mortal adversary. The many sounds of a city called out on the wind, but to him they all shouted "victory!" with glorious trumpet blasts.

Everything was in perfect order for the confrontation. His precise lines were memorized to the point of instinct. His hair was groomed with the appropriately superior class and daring charm. This morning he had ensured his clothing was finely pressed and resplendently clean. He had arrived twelve minutes earlier than usual to insure that his predictably timed foe did not attempt to elude his presence by arriving at a reasonable hour. Truly, nothing could upset this plan.

When the last bell rang, signaling the beginning of classes, and his foe had not yet come into view, he was understandably dismayed. Had his prey somehow entered unnoticed? Nay, impossible. Perhaps the foolish Hibiki had triumphed where he had not? Again, he rejected the thought as absurd.

The only possible explanation was that the sorcerer had learned of his plan through dark magics, and sought to unnerve his foe before the fateful confrontation by playing this game of nerves. Well, no such trickery would befall the Blue Thunder on this day! He would wait the demon out, even if it took hours!

"Hello, brother dear. How goes your hopeless quest?" asked Kodachi as she strolled through the gate.

"It goes well, sister mine," he replied, without shifting his gaze from the horizon. "The trickster attempts to undermine my resolve with foolish ploys, but it is I who shall emerge victorious in the end!"

She continued on her way towards the school. "Well, best of luck to you then, brother, though I fear your iron determination is wasted in this case because of your self deceptions."

"We shall see, sister. We shall see," was his only reply.

For what seemed like an eternity he waited, standing stoically against the empty streets, though some tiny spark of doubt began to form in his soul. It was puzzling, indeed, to see his sister here on the grounds of Furinkan High, especially when she did not attend said institution. Were she of as pure and noble a heart as his twin loves he would write off her presence as simply a token of esteem for such a man as himself, but her motives were never so clear.

Why come here, then? In the past, she had only appeared on the premises in order to pursue Saotome himself, but surely that was not the case today... unless, by some twist of fate, his foe had managed to slip by undetected! Blast, he had underestimated his foe's cunning! With unearthly speed he made his way into the school and forced his way into the room where his foe would surely be.

"Saotome! I come to challenge you to a manly duel in the highest of arenas! What say you?" he demanded as he kicked the door in.

"Um, he isn't here, Kuno," replied his Fierce Tigress with obvious affection. "He got called to your father's office a few minutes ago."

"Truly? So, the fiend thinks to ally himself with my other greatest foe! I shall not be beaten, even by such as they!" he decried, racing out of the room.

Again he ran, pushing himself to the very limits to reach his destiny in as short a time as possible. Forgoing the steps, he instead plunged purposefully into the trapdoor, rolling as he hit the sand to absorb the impact without losing speed. At last he reached his goal, dashing through the ferns to discover his foe in alliance with his father and, nearly in an indecent posture, his own sister.

"Hold, Fiend! While I may have rashly given my consent to this unholy pairing, it shall have to wait until my divine vengeance has been fulfilled!" he cried as he charged. To his dismay his target chose, rather than to hear out his challenge with honor, to flee.

"Ranma-sama, don't run from my love!" called his sister as she joined him in pursuit, tossing aside her uniform to reveal her favored purple leotard.

"Runnin' from me gracious offa'? You is a bein' a bad, bad keiki!" his father pronounced gravely as he produced his sheers and fell into step.

Had his magnificence finally brought his family into the light of reason? Surely the gods smiled on his endeavor if even his perverse father and twisted sister had come to see the evil that is Saotome, and chosen to join his righteous crusade! "Onward, Kinsmen! Sweet victory sings of the house of Kuno this day!"

The chase continued through the school's halls, outside of the gates, and even into the favored shopping district of the local common class. Across all manner of terrain he pursued his foe, with his family close behind, be it on rooftops, beneath bridges, or through merchant's stores, but he did not lose the trail nor fall behind.

They were now traveling at street level, dashing amongst the morning crowds as they procured comestibles from local vendors, when he spotted a possible advantage in the crowds ahead. "Gosunkugi Hikaru, I shall reward you handsomely if you halt the flight of this scoundrel!" he shouted to his frail but occasionally useful acquaintance.

The boy in question turned at the shout, but like a coward he froze in open-mouthed terror before the demon, who, sensing the newcomer to the fray, changed his course to intercept him. With the puzzling comment, "No cheating!" Saotome dashed by the terrified boy and removed from his nose a clothespin, which had been affixed there for some indiscernible purpose, with a sharp snap. The boy howled in pain at this odd treatment, but the chase continued on.

Ranma led a grand run through out the streets of Nerima with a variety of encounters with people he recognized, such as the eldest Tendo sister (who swore under her breath as he passed, after being vaulted over by Saotome in a most un-gentlemanly fashion) and the perverse old master who also lived within the sanctuary of the Tendo home.

Suddenly he felt a cold sense of trouble arising about him, a gnawing deep in the back of his mind that he could not place until he rounded the corner and saw the source, a wooden cart filled to overflowing with watermelons. "Damn the fates," he mentally swore in tragic fashion, "that not only saddled me with the insatiable will to destroy the voluptuous fruit, but also made sure that my fated enemy knew of this limitation as well!"

With a kick, the clever fiend overturned the overburdened cart, throwing the hated melons into the air in all directions about him. What could the kendoist do but allow his foe to escape when an uncontrollable urge forced him to pause his pursuit and precisely section each and every ripened sphere with his mighty blade? Alas, the technique proved too strong, not only for his father and sister, but also for an unlucky purple-haired delivery girl who had joined the chase at some point, all of which were left unconscious about him while Ranma was nowhere to be seen.

**

* * *

**

She woke up completely disoriented, her head painfully throbbing along a straight line across her scalp. She assumed she was not a prisoner, at least, because of the soft, smooth bedding and the lack of bonds. A pleasant but altogether unknown smell permeated the room. Strange music played softly in the air. Risking opening one eye, she gazed about a richly decorated Japanese room, taking in the sights but recognizing nothing. It was dark outside, meaning that she had been unconscious for at least six hours.

Hearing footsteps from down the hall, she left the bed and took up a ready stance in case her benefactor had any impure motives concerning her. The finely carved wooden door opened smoothly, revealing a familiar, if not altogether welcome, figure.

"Ah, so the mysterious flower has bloomed at last! Excellent!" he said, taking a seat on the bed and laying out a silver tray of food. "Perhaps you would care for a meal?"

"What stick boy want with Shampoo?" she demanded. Her stomach growled as she eyed the food, but she made no move to eat it.

"Stick boy? What a peculiar form of address," he replied carelessly. "I am known as Kuno Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, age nineteen. You are safely within my domicile, under the protection of all the Kuno clan, at present. You, my dear, I remember from a rather strange confrontation regarding ramen noodles, though I fear we have never been properly introduced. Please, sit and eat something."

"I am Shampoo of Joketsuzoku, and Shampoo no is hungry," she said, but her stomach betrayed her.

He cocked an eyebrow at the deep grumble. "Please, My lady, I must insist. It is the very least I can offer after so rudely bludgeoning you earlier this morn."

The memory of her pursuit of Ranma flashed back into her mind like a movie in fast forward, a rush of images too fast to examine carefully. She shrank back as the final scenes of the chase played out, and all became clear. "You is defeat me? Then you are Shampoo's airen. But Shampoo already have airen..."

"Is there a problem, my lovely guest?" he asked, placing a hand upon her shoulder. "If I may be of assistance, you have only to ask."

"Shampoo is... confuse. You come with me to Great-Grandmother," she commanded, grabbing his hand. "She know how fix this."

He followed her lead, mindful to bring along the sushi (which she did eat along the way), across the rooftops of Nerima to the Cat Cafe. Slightly impressed as the seemingly weak boy managed to keep her pace easily, she led him inside.

"Honored Elder, I am in need of your guidance on an urgent matter!" she announced in her native tongue as she entered the building, ignoring Mousse as he hurried past with an order.

Cologne, who was busy cooking for the dinner crowd, poked her head out of the kitchen and ushered them back. "Child, how many times must I tell you to speak only Japanese in front of the customers?" she asked, once both were out of the main hall. "It is rude to do otherwise."

"It is perfectly acceptable now, however, if she chooses to speak in a more familiar form," interjected her guest in accented but technically correct Chinese. "Please, make no difficulties on my account."

Shampoo gasped and stared at him in wonder. "You speak Chinese? I've been in Japan for nearly two years and you are the first person I have met here who would speak to me in my language."

"I am proficient in the diction of five languages, and Chinese is among them," he answered. "Reading the historical and mythological texts of great cultures is a pressing interest of mine. Such tales lose much luster in the reforging to other tongues."

"You are to be commended for your studies, young one," replied Cologne as she hopped up on her staff, "but what, pray tell, has brought you here at such a busy hour?"

Shampoo began to help with the cooking as she explained, "Great-Grandmother, I have been defeated again. I am confused... who now is to be my beloved?"

"You have defeated Xian Pu in combat?" she asked him bluntly. "I find this hard to believe."

"It was not my intention, I assure you, but alas I must take responsibility for her injury," he admitted. "In the course of my training I learned a nearly undefeatable technique, but unfortunately it has a cost; it inspires in my heart an instinctive rage at the sight of watermelons, and I am unable to restrain myself from striking the offending spheres no matter where they lie. The cursed fiend, Saotome, knows of this weakness, and used it this morn in a most cowardly fashion to escape my wrath as he fled, and your great-granddaughter was caught in my path."

"In my experience, Saotome Ranma fears only two things; commitment and cats. Aside from your motivational interpretation, however, I find no fault in your tale," Cologne replied before turning to face Shampoo. "This is a rare complication, my dear, but not a difficult one to deal with. By law, they are both your husbands to be, until such time as an official challenge is made between them, and then only the victor will be connected to you."

"Excuse me, but am I to understand that because of this incident I have somehow become legally required to wed Xian Pu?" Tatewaki asked, bewildered.

"Technically, yes," answered the matriarch, "though practically speaking I don't believe you have any need to concern yourself with the matter. Saotome Ranma will have no trouble defeating you yet again, if my sources are truthful."

"Does his lust know no bounds?" he demanded, striking a fierce pose. "Already he controls the fierce Tendo Akane and my mysterious pig-tailed goddess with his magics, and even my own sister has fallen prey to his demonic charms to join the ranks of his ensnared young women. Surely he is not the cause of great suffering for you as well, Xian Pu?"

Shampoo rapped his head roughly with her knuckles. "Don't you talk about my beloved that way! By Joketsuzoku law he is promised to me, and, were it not for the other girls who hound him, he would already be my wedded husband!"

"So, it is as I feared," he noted sagely as he rubbed his head. "Then my duty is clear, prescribed by law and honor alike. I shall challenge and defeat Saotome, not only for my pride as a warrior and to free the hearts of women everywhere, but also to win the deserving love of Xian Pu, my lavender-trussed foreign beauty!"

"What are you talking about?" Shampoo asked, completely puzzled.

He continued on, uninhibited by her questioning. "Surely the time has come, for all has fallen into alignment! Truly, the vengeance of heaven is slow but sure!" He thrust his bokken high above his head, puncturing a panel of the kitchen's drop ceiling. After quickly taking Shampoo's hand and kissing it, he dashed off into the night.

**Author's notes:**

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but finals really slowed me down in my writing and accidentally deleting the first draft didn't help much either. It gave me a chance to go back and redo the chase scene from Kuno's perspective, though, which was a lot of fun to write. Believe it or not, this story arc is beginning to tie itself up, and the main plot is definitely easier to see forming than in earlier chapters. There is only one more chapter to go in this act (which I promise will be coming shortly), completing the rewritten portion of this story! Woo hoo!

I hope the fight scenes came off okay, as I had to put in a bit of effort to find a style that seemed to work for me. I went back and changed the Akane/Ukyo fight scene in 2:1 so that it would match this style rather than letting the overly descriptive version remain.

New special techniques (in order of appearance):

Resshin Ki-Ken Violent Earthquake Ki-Punch  
Bai Resshin Ki-Ken Double Violent Earthquake Ki-Punch  
Bakusai Rei Hari Blasting Spirit Needles  
Emkaku Tenketsu Dan Remote Point Bomb  
Ryuujin Kenma Koku Dragon King's Cutting Wind

**NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2**

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	5. Friction in the Machine: Act 2, pt 4

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero**

**Act 2: Friction in the Machine  
Part 4**

"Insider" Pre-readers:

Freak247  
Thermopyle  
Tonyloco

"Outsider" Pre-readers:

Akraen  
Buuchan  
Grookill  
Pyeknu  
Ray DeVore  
Yakumo

**

* * *

**

He lay on his back on a small bedroll, staring mindlessly with half-lidded eyes at the ceiling. Random thoughts trailed through his mind, stirred relentlessly by his anchorless consciousness, until they blurred, intermingled, and overlapped so thoroughly that they ceased to make any sense whatsoever. Featureless faces laughed at him, explosions of light rocked his universe with the intolerable scent of his own burning flesh, and all the while, he stared at the ceiling.

Ranma had so far managed to avoid sleep... or had it eluded him? He didn't know anymore, and he no longer cared. The only thing that mattered was that his life was a waking hell, and the only way to escape would be to destroy himself, either physically or in spirit. Running away, even into the arms of death, was his father's way, not his. If he took that step, knowing full well that he had no plans to regroup and try again, he would cease to be himself. Saotome Ranma was doomed, and he knew it, but he was still determined to go down fighting. Now all he had to do was figure out how he could fight back at all.

"Ranma, time to get up! You don't want to be late for school, do you?"

Oh, and there was that, too. "I'm up already," he announced, hoping he wouldn't have to explain this latest complication to her while the katana was within reach. With a groan he stretched and sat up, forcing his mind back into a reasonable facsimile of consciousness. "Uh, Mom? About school..."

"Come on, Dear, get dressed. We can talk over breakfast, but you had better get ready soon so you can get back to Nerima by eight," she suggested, turning to leave. "You can start by explaining why you're not at the Tendos'."

"Mom, there's no hurry. I don't need to go to school today."

"Has your father been filling your head with his nonsense again?" she asked, looking at him sharply. "You need a proper education, Ranma, even to be a dojo instructor."

"No, Mom. I... I got expelled from school yesterday." Seeing the disapproving stare harden, he quickly elaborated, "Apparently Pop engaged me to the principal's insane daughter as collateral on a loan, so now Mr. Kuno is trying to force me to marry her."

"So you decided that since you were free of the obligation you would come and help me finish moving back into the house?" she asked, projecting a hopeful look. "I can't say that being expelled is a good thing, but at least you're thoughtful."

"Well, I also got kicked out of the Tendos' the night before on account of a fight with an idiot," he began, but quickly tied up that statement as her smile fell a bit, "But yeah, I guess you could say I just wanted to come see you again."

"Well, in that case, go ahead and change clothes," she replied, turning to leave, "and after breakfast we can get started on the rest of the furniture."

"Umm," he answered, holding the back of his head sheepishly, "I don't have anything else to wear. Mr. Tendo wouldn't let me back in the house to pack, and the only change of clothes I had with me sorta got left in my gym locker."

She stopped abruptly. "He wouldn't let you retrieve your belongings? On what grounds?"

Ranma shook his head. "He said that if he didn't keep my stuff, he was afraid I'd just run away."

She continued, "Can I assume your father said nothing about this? Regardless, this simply will not do; to let Soun show such disrespect to his future son in law is intolerable." She walked back towards him, and, placing a hand on his shoulder she commanded, "Ranma, you cannot allow him to dishonor you so, Father-in-law or not. Coming here, as much as I enjoy the company, could be seen by Mr. Tendo as confirming his theory."

"But Mom," he started to complain, but was stopped when without warning his aura flared uncontrollably, black as pitch and rolling like a living shadow. A shock ran through his body like lightning, paralyzing him as he felt a part of the aura flow painfully from him, ripping away from him and forcing its way into his mother's hand as if pulled by invisible ties.

She emitted a terrified scream and yanked her hand away as the blackness suddenly blazed into life. It expanded at an incredible rate, throwing her across the room with a wave of concussive force to crash into the sturdy wooden wall. She slumped to the floor, twitching slightly with her eyes closed, as the aura shrank away to nothingness almost as fast as it had appeared.

He gaped for a moment, staring disbelieving at the scene before him as he slowly rose to his feet. The disconnected feeling was soon replaced with worry, prompting him to dash across the room to check on her. He reached toward her but stopped just before contact, afraid that his aura would only attack her again. "Mom... Oh God... Mom, can you hear me? Mom?" he asked in tense voice. His eyes widened as her aura shifted into view then begin to shift and bend, the bright yellowish hue suddenly filled with swirling brown and black tones.

Her eyes flew open and she stared at him with wide eyes and fully opened pupils, sucking in her breath sharply as she awoke. Slowly her eyes returned to normal, but still she stared, not at but through him, as if she was watching something that only existed in her mind. After several long seconds she still had yet to say anything, but she looked away from him to her hand, which she flexed into a fist and then relaxed several times.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

She looked back at him, and lightly traced her fingers along his cheek, studying his face as if seeing him for the first time. Slowly a smile grew on her face. Not her usual peaceful, open smile, but rather something slight, wry, and slightly... unnerving.

Ranma flinched away when he felt her hand brush his cheek, attributing the reaction to his fear of the aura yet again. "Mom?" he asked, watching as intently as the discolored spots faded from view, followed soon after by the rest of her chi.

She stood up slowly, stretching her arms above her head and rolling her shoulders and neck languidly. "Don't worry, Ranma. I'm fine." She looked back at him with that same strange smile, though it quickly melted away into her usual one. "I was just distracted for a moment."

"But..."

"No buts, Ranma, I'm fine. You didn't hurt me. In fact, I feel almost refreshed suddenly." She turned away and headed for the door, straightening her kimono as she walked. "Now stop acting so worried and come down for breakfast. Afterwards you can go back to Nerima and gather up your things."

He watched her walk out, though he stayed rooted to the spot, disbelieving what had just happened. He looked down at his hands, studying them intently as he focused a small bit of chi to materialize in the air between them. The glowing mass of light swirled between his palms and slowly grew as he watched, but he was disappointed and frustrated when it was only shown with yellow, green, orange and finally reddish light, with no trace of the black.

"I will conquer this thing. I will learn to control this power before anyone else gets accidentally hurt by it," he swore to himself angrily as he dispelled the chi harmlessly into the air. "And then I'm going to find a way out of this damned fiancée mess once and for all."

**

* * *

**

Kodachi stepped out of the smooth black Nissan Skyline as one of her father's subservients held the door for her. After adjusting her school uniform, and internally grumbling about having to wear anything over her custom-fit leotard even in public, she made her way towards the front gates with determined steps and a not-entirely-friendly smile upon her face. She rang the bell twice, then stood impatiently as she awaited a greeting from the peasants who called this spacious but extremely ill kept house and yard home.

"Oh, how can I help you?" asked the eldest Tendo daughter as she opened the door then offered a modest bow.

"I would like to speak with Mr. Tendo Soun," Kodachi responded coolly, without bothering to return the gesture. Her accompaniment, a balding man in his late forties wearing a very professional looking gray suit, a dark red tie, and carrying a black leather briefcase, did bow slightly, despite her look of disdain.

Kasumi smiled at the man, then turned back to Kodachi. "Well, he is here, but we are in the middle of breakfast. Please, if you could come inside and wait for just a few moments..."

"No, I cannot wait," Kodachi interrupted. "I must be getting to school soon and this is but the first of my errands for the afternoon. I would very much like to have this matter cleared up before I am forced to sit through such tedium."

"Well if it's serious, Miss Kuno, I suppose Father could make an exception for you," Kasumi replied as she stepped back and gestured them in. "Please excuse the mess outside... Ranma had a bit of a scuffle with one of his little friends a few nights ago. I'm sure you understand."

"Hee hee! Oh, so many silky darlings today!"

Kodachi and the man quickly changed shoes and entered the home, following their host's lead, all while pointedly ignoring the demented cackling coming from the front room.

"Father, you have guests," announced Kasumi as she reentered the family room.

"Oh?" Soun put his morning paper down and looked across the table to meet Kodachi's level gaze.

"And just what in the hell do you think you're doing here?" demanded Akane. "Shouldn't you be off terrorizing Ranma or something?"

"Me, incite terror in my love's heart? Oh, truly you are a simple girl to think such things." Kodachi glanced about the room in search of the aforementioned young male, but found only the Tendo family and their amazingly well trained panda. "And where, pray tell, is my heart's prince?"

"I can answer that for, oh, lets say 2000 yen," Nabiki offered.

"If you knew where he is, why didn't you tell me?" complained Akane.

"No, I believe I will be more than capable of finding him on my own initiative later this afternoon. I have more pressing matters to discuss at present." Kodachi turned back toward Soun. "It is my understanding that your family has arranged for a marriage of one of your daughters to Saotome Ranma, but that you have yet to make the engagement official with either a formal ceremony or the exchange of a dowry, correct?"

"That is true, though I too fail to see what interest of yours such details are, Miss Kuno," replied her father with a hard tone.

"What business of it is yours, Kodachi?" Akane demanded from behind her.

"It most certainly is my business, as you put it, because it seems that your engagement is no longer of priority. I am now officially engaged to Ranma, you see. A substantial amount of money was delivered to Saotome Genma as a potential dowry several years ago, sealing this transaction. Mr. Idoshi, the current acting manager of the 2nd Nihon Bank of Nerima, can show you documentation of this transaction if you so desire."

"Um, hello," the man replied with a slightly nervous bow.

"I'd like a look at that, for one," Nabiki said, eyeing the panda that seemed to be attempting to sneak away from the room on the tips of its back paws. "How about you, Mr. Saotome? Aren't you curious to see if this is real?"

The panda froze in mid step, then produced from... somewhere, a small wooden sign reading "of course not, silly girl; pandas can't read."

Kodachi blinked at the odd display that, truth be told, put her own efforts at training her pet, Mr. Turtle, to shame. Perhaps they purchased the animal from a circus? She blinked again as Akane ran off in angry pursuit of the fleeing black and white blur, shouting all manner of common, but colorful, phrases, the most curious of which was "What, you ran out of food sources to trade him for?"

"This... I think this actually is legitimate, Dad," admitted the youngest Tendo girl still present with a soft tone. "It's been stamped with his hanko and everything."

"Yes, this is the original document, but we have several copies on file. If you would like, I can have one mailed to your lawyer," Mr. Idoshi offered.

"I doubt that will be necessary," Kodachi said with slight annoyance. "So now you see the crux of the matter, Mr. Tendo; it seems that we are legally in a rather gray area concerning the current status of our respective claims to Ranma."

She snapped her fingers at Mr. Idoshi, who stepped forward and sat his briefcase upon the table before Soun. "I have come to make a compensatory offer, should you be willing to place your engagement aside in this matter. Would ten million yen be sufficient?"

Knowing where the decision-making power in the Tendo family really sat, Kodachi glanced aside to watch the reaction of Nabiki to the offer rather than Soun's. Predictably, Nabiki's eyes immediately bulged at the prospect, but soon after her eyes turned downward with an almost guilty or shameful expression that was wholly unexpected.

"I, I don't know, I..." Mr. Tendo began to stammer as he stared at the still-closed briefcase.

The panda ran back through the room, with Akane close behind, and placed another sign on the table as he passed, reading "Tendo my old friend, think of the Art, of our friendship, and of the honorable promise we made so many years ago!"

Kasumi tossed the sign away quickly and kneeled by her father's side, holding his had in both of hers. "Father, you should accept this offer. With this money you could easily repair all the damages that the house, dojo, and yard have suffered since the Saotomes' arrival, and still have enough to fund a proper college education for all three of your loving daughters."

"Kasumi, how could you?" Nabiki whispered before raising her head to offer her advice. "Dad, you can't do this. If you accepted that money to ignore your honor and look the other way as she chases Ranma, you would be no different than his father; an honorless, greedy man who doesn't give a single thought to how his actions affect the lives of others around him, so long as he manages to get his own way."

Kodachi smirked as Soun glanced back and forth between Nabiki, Kasumi, and the briefcase with a bewildered look. A loud crash, followed by the introduction of an unconscious panda to the room via a new hole in the outer doors, caught his attention, however, and kept it on Akane as she pushed aside the ruined screen and entered the room angrily.

"No, you can't buy us off," Akane declared. "I've worked far too long and put up with way too much shit on account of this engagement idea of yours for you to just call it quits now. Ranma is mine. I earned him with blood, sweat, and tears, and not you or anyone else is going to take him from me now."

"Akane?" Soun asked solemnly, "Do you really mean it? You definitely do want to marry Ranma, even after what happened this weekend?"

"Yes."

Soun closed his eyes, and, after a moment's pause, he let out a breath before pushing the case back towards Mr. Idoshi. "I have considered your offer, Miss Kuno, but I feel I must decline it at this time. Please, would you leave my family to its breakfast now?"

"If you insist, Tendo-san, but don't expect another chance at my generosity when Ranma chooses my love over that of your excessively abusive spawn. Oh, and keep the case; Inside you will find exactly 400,000 yen, the compensation you requested for the damage to your dojo." Kodachi reached into her pocket and retrieved a single, crisply folded paper bill, placing it in front of Nabiki. "And where was it that you mentioned I could find my one true love?"

"That's not what you asked about earlier, but the answer is probably the same," Nabiki replied as she pocketed the money before offering a twisted smirk. "Frozen waist-deep in the deepest bowels of Hell, I'd wager... but if you are referring to Saotome Ranma I haven't the slightest idea."

Inside she burned with rage at the glib little bitch, but Kodachi thought it better to simply leave with her dignity intact and proceed to her next target, Kuonji Ukyo, rather than waste more time on these senseless and self-deluded fools.

**

* * *

**

"Xian Pu, I have a delivery for you to make!"

Shampoo stopped her morning kata abruptly and stuck her head into the back kitchen door to comment, "Can't Mu Tsu do it instead?"

Mousse stopped his own practice abruptly, returning the feathered spear he had been swinging in powerful arcs and short jabs back into the mysterious recesses of his cloak. "Why me?" he complained to the rusted trash bin, "I need my practice too, you know."

"What you need are your glasses, idiot!" Shampoo roared as she kicked him squarely in the back, launching him headlong into the trashcan he somehow had mistaken was her.

"Xian Pu..." he moaned, his voice muffled by the various rotting foodstuffs and paper products crowded into the can with him. He began kicking his legs in random directions, trying to free himself from his confinement.

"Well then, that settles this little issue, I suppose," Cologne intoned. "He can't very well deliver anything if he's covered in filth, now can he? Besides, I'd prefer for you to do handle this one anyway."

Shampoo groaned at her own stupidity as she ruefully accepted the duty. "But it's only 7:30 in the morning, Great-Grandmother. Who in their right mind orders carryout at this hour?" she complained.

"Someone not in their right mind, perhaps? A fool in love?" replied Cologne cryptically.

"Ha, ha, ha... this is for that idiot, isn't it?" she asked flatly.

Cologne admonished her quickly, "That idiot, as you call him, could very well be your husband soon, Xian Pu. Remember that."

"Yes, he will of course be my one and only right after he defeats Ranma," Shampoo replied sarcastically, "As if that were even the slightest possibility. His art is too formal to be of any real use, and he is so thick-headed that he still has yet to accept the truth of Ranma's curse."

"He seems to have trouble relating to reality sometimes?" asked Cologne with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Great-Grandmother. He acts like he's on a completely different world then everyone else sometimes," she answered.

Cologne muttered to herself with a far-off look, "That may be because he is..."

"What?" Shampoo asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing to concern yourself with, child," the elder answered evasively as her attention returned to the conversation at hand. "Now head upstairs and take a shower. It wouldn't do for our delivery girl to be all sweaty and smelling of garbage when she arrives, would it?"

"But won't the customer be mad if I don't bring his delivery quickly?" Shampoo questioned half-heartedly.

"Why would Son-In-Law-Number-Two be angry if you are late in delivering food he did not order, Xian Pu?" the elder returned as she hopped up onto a stool.

"You mean... Great-Grandmother, why do you meddle in my life so?" complained Shampoo as she sat down. "You act as if you actually want me to marry that fool."

"Perhaps I do, although he is still my second choice so long as you have a chance at convincing Ranma," she replied after a bit of thought. "My meddling in your life is simply an old woman's prerogative, my dear; symbolic revenge against the elders that meddled with my life when I was your age. Just consider it advanced training for when you yourself are an elder."

"Sometimes I think you just stir up trouble in my life to stave off your own boredom," Shampoo grumbled.

"Perhaps..." the elder replied with a sly grin.

"But why do you want to see me married to him?" Shampoo asked.

"That boy has tremendous untapped potential, Xian Pu," Cologne stated simply. "Although his fighting technique is limited and his chi seems slight, I feel that he has the potential to rival Ranma on the field of battle if only he could learn to control his gifts... and convinced that he actually has them, of course."

"Gifts?" Shampoo wondered aloud.

"Did you not notice his oddly distracted manner, or his piercing gaze? The way his comments rang with truths he was not himself aware of? That young man seems highly likely to have the gift of soul-sight, the ability to see things as they are in purpose rather than in form."

"Are you kidding? That idiot doesn't' even realize that Ranma is cursed!"

"Doesn't see it, or doesn't acknowledge it?" the crone quipped. "Denial is a powerful force in its own right, child. And in truth, Ranma –does- somewhat act differently depending on his form."

"Are you sure you're okay? Did you hit your head or something?"

"Do not question me in such a disrespectful manner, Child," the elder warned. "Slight jokes and informalities I can ignore and even appreciate, but I will not tolerate you questioning my judgment."

"Yes, Great-Grandmother," the younger Amazon replied, averting her gaze.

"Good," Cologne replied with a nod, then hopped up on her staff. "Now go and freshen up while I finish the morning preparations."

After a short but refreshingly hot shower, Shampoo dried herself then set about choosing her clothing. At first she reached toward one of her standard work outfits, a short white and green dress with slightly faded colors, but she stopped. Perhaps Great-Grandmother was right; no matter how unlikely it seemed that the stick-wielding fool could ever defeat her beloved, the fact remained that for the time being she should at least try to get to know him a little. With a resigned sigh she reached instead for one of her fancier dresses, a royal blue silk slip with a vertical line of light pink cherry blossom petals up the side and intricate gold trim along the collar and hem.

Shampoo returned to the lower floor with her hair still damp to find Cologne waiting for her with a wrapped bundle and an approving nod. She accepted the package and went to the kitchen to retrieve her bike.

"Stay with the boy for a while, Child. There is more than enough here for the both of you to share," the elder instructed. "Just remember to come back in time to help with the lunch rush."

"Yes, Elder. I'll go, but only because it is in the best interests of the tribe," Shampoo replied as she walked her bike out the back door. "It looks like rain, though. Can I have a packet of Instant Nyannichuan?"

"Unfortunately, no. A strange young man with wheels on his shoes offered a ridiculously high price for them, so I sold him all that we had left. I did put in an order for more, though," Cologne replied, slightly apologetic. "You could try the waterproof soap."

"No, that stuff always gives me a rash. Oh well, guess I'd better just be careful, then," Shampoo replied. After placing the package in the bike's basket, Shampoo rode off towards the school at a relatively normal pace.

**

* * *

**

"...The nerve of that girl, making us late to our meeting with Ranma, and the way she interrupted us right in the middle of breakfast was very rude, don't you think?"

When Akane finally stopped to take a breath, the first in over a block, Nabiki was quick to step in. "Yes, yes, I agree completely. You don't have to tell me." Immediately she went back to studying the figures in her notebook and tuning out any further ranting from her riled-up sibling.

"And I can't believe Kasumi said..." Akane trailed of as they neared the school. "That had better not be what I think it is."

"Huh?" asked Nabiki, looking ahead at the crowd of students before the gates. At first glance they appeared completely normal, just a crowd of random students waiting for classes to start. At second glance, however, she noticed that all of the challengers were male, wearing athletic equipment, and charging directly at them.

"With Ranma gone, the game is back on!" one yelled.

"Boys!" Akane yelled as if the word were a curse, tossing her bundle of Ranma's clothes to Nabiki as she launched into a flying kick. She pounded her way through the crowd with grim determination and an array of quickly snapping punches and kicks. She broke their ranks and pressed on into the middle of the crowd, attacking everyone within range with a furious assault.

Nabiki watched all this with a critical eye, noting that Akane was taking more time to deal with each attacker than she had when this madness had first occurred. Was Akane getting sloppy, or had the hentai horde managed to improve? The answer seemed rather moot to her as she watched a hockey player sneak up behind Akane unnoticed to land a solid blow with his stick to the base of the skull.

Akane tried to shake off the blow, but it had broken her rhythm enough for her assailants to grapple her. She tried to throw them off but they bore her to the ground with sheer numbers and pinned her.

"So how's Saturday for you?" one of them called above the crowd.

"Hold, curs! This display of brutality against purest womanhood shall not go tolerated, not while the Blue Thunder yet lives!" Kuno charged the group, swinging his weapon with fury and skill as he cleared a path towards the pileup.

"But it was your idea in the first place!" one student in a baseball uniform complained as he was shouldered aside roughly.

"That isn't important at the moment!" Kuno replied in a magnanimous voice as Akane freed herself of the remaining assailants. "I hereby declare that these attacks will cease, or you shall all face my righteous blade!"

"Wait just one second, there!" Nabiki demanded as the fight wound to a stop. "You're going to just stop this stupidity? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but still, it was all your idea to begin with..."

"Yes."

Nabiki was momentarily stunned by the simplistic answer, having expected to be faced with the task of deciphering more of his usually convoluted speech. At last, she managed to ask, "Yes?"

"Oh, my head..."Akane groaned as she regained her footing. She took up a defensive stance and challenged her would-be savior, "And I suppose you want to go a round with me now, Kuno?"

"Nay, good lady, I wish no contest with you this day, both in light of your... accident, and in preparation for my duel," the kendoist replied with a bow. "I was advised it would not do for me to be overly tired when I face my enemy this final time."

"You mean Ranma? Isn't he here yet?" asked Akane, still rubbing the back of her head.

Setsuko ran up from the stairs toward the sisters and Kuno, waving her arms frantically. "Boss, I've been waiting for you for almost twenty minutes!"

"I was detained a bit by rather rude company," Nabiki replied coldly.

"Well, there's something you've got to know," Setsuko continued. "Ranma got expelled!"

"He what?" demanded Akane, grabbing the mousy girl by the shoulders.

"Akane, killing my assistant won't get you any answers," Nabiki admonished, leaning in close to her sister.

Setsuko moved slightly away from Akane before continuing, "The principal announced it a little after I got here. It was something about too many absences, or tardiness, or something like that. He was kind of vague."

Akane's eyes widened then went dull as she looked at the entryway. "But then... where is he now?" she whispered.

"Well, Kuno, sounds like your challenge may go unanswered today," Nabiki smirked.

"Nay, I know it shall not be wasted. This is the fated day of my triumph, and even one such as he would not dare to disturb the way of things by not answering my call," Kuno intoned gravely. "Even now, I sense the approach of destiny."

Ding ding!

Heralded by her usual chime, Shampoo thundered out of the heavens on her delivery bike, aligned to land precisely on the head of Kuno Tatewaki. Much to everyone's surprise he remained standing, though he stumbled back a few steps, as she balanced on only the front tire before falling off his head to the ground.

"Nihao, keyi-airen!" Shampoo sang rhythmically. "Wo xie ni liwu!"

"Youxiu! Wo bi xiang tai pnzhi shiwu heshi dangshi wufan, wode liu cihua," He responded in kind as he accepted a small basket from her. "Mo ru tang zan tan yi putong benzuyu, Xian Pu?"

"That's just scary," Akane whispered, and Nabiki couldn't help but agree as she suppressed the urge to shiver.

Shampoo sighed, but nodded at his request. "Shampoo shall speak Japanese when others be near."

"You need not view this manner of speech as a chore," Kuno insisted, taking her arm. "Rather, endeavor to reflect upon each sentence as merely an opportunity for improvement and practice. But, for now, let us away to continue this discussion far from the reach of unenlightened ears."

Nabiki watched Kuno walk away toward the school gates with Shampoo in an almost romantic posture, and then turned to regard her associate. "Setsuko?"

"I haven't the slightest idea, boss," replied the younger girl with a dumfounded look.

"Pity, but I think I want to investigate that situation on my own," Nabiki replied. "What I need you to do is to cancel any and all bets for today, no matter what comes up. I've just got a sudden feeling that today is going to be unusual all around, and I don't think we need to lose money on wildly fluctuating odds."

"Right!" Setsuko chimed as she ran off towards the school entrance.

**

* * *

**

Kasumi wiped her hands off on her apron before taking it off and hanging it on a hook by the doorway. She took a moment to mentally check off every item she planned to serve, then, finding everything in order, left the kitchen. She walked briskly down the hall to the family room where she found, as expected, her father and Mr. Saotome (human for a change) engaged in a discussion of the morning's events over a game of Shoji.

"Lunch is ready. Would you care for it here, or at the table?" she asked simply.

"Hmm, an interesting question, eh Saotome?" her father remarked with unwarranted severity. "I believe that it will depend upon what you have in mind, Daughter."

It was, of course, the same infuriating question that she was asked every day. "I made some ham sandwiches, a light miso soup, fresh lemonade, and a slice of watermelon for dessert," she replied, maintaining her expected smile.

"Soup, eh? I think that calls for the table, Tendo. Wouldn't want to soil the game board, would we?" Genma replied with equally haughty tone.

"Very well then, we shall dine at the table this afternoon," Tendo announced, turning to face her.

Genma took the opportunity to not-so-subtly kick the table from below, causing the majority of the dual-colored tiles to flip.

Soun looked back at the loud thump, but was unable to spot the obvious change in the board's layout even when tipped off by Genma's sudden need to whistle and avoid eye contact. Suspicious, he continued his speech while keeping an eye on things this time. "If you would go ahead and set the table, Saotome and I will be in to eat just as soon as our match and conversations are concluded."

"What more is there to explain, Tendo?" Genma asked plaintively. "I admit I made a mistake with the Kuno girl, but that was several years ago. Besides, It was all for the good of the school... you wouldn't hold that against me, would you?"

"Yes, Father," she replied with false cheerfulness before returning to the kitchen.

She grumbled under her breath as she grabbed two bowls of soup, but was interrupted midway to the table by a loud knock upon the front door. Nearly screaming in exasperation when her father looked at her expectantly rather than moving to answer the door himself, she managed to control her temper and maintain her vacant smile long enough to place the bowls on the table and exit the room. Perfect, a guest was just the last thing she needed today, one more mouth to feed without so much as a thank you or a bit of help with the dishes afterwards.

Kasumi was thus primed and ready when she opened the door, after a second burst of impatient knocking, to find Ranma standing on the walkway. She flinched at the unexpected sight, but soon steeled herself to demand, "What do you want?"

Ranma was surprised at how bluntly hostile Kasumi was acting, but quickly set his shoulders in a proud posture. "I've come to retrieve my property, Kasumi. If you'll just step aside I'll pack up my things and leave quietly."

"No, you won't," she replied harshly. "You're going to turn around and march out the gate. In case you've forgotten, you are not welcome in this home for the time being."

"I didn't forget. I just ain't leaving this time without my stuff, like it or not," he responded tersely with a raised voice.

"Kasumi, who is at the door?" asked her father as he came around the corner with Genma in tow.

Kasumi smiled, but with a sharp light in her eyes. "It seems that Ranma is skipping his classes for the afternoon, Father."

"Boy, why aren't you in school?" Genma demanded, lumbering his way towards the entryway.

"I don't have classes anymore, Pop. I got expelled," Ranma replied matter-of-factly.

"What?" Genma howled, pushing Kasumi slightly aside as he stormed up to the door and gripped Ranma's shirtfront. "Do you have any idea what your mother will say when she learns of this disgrace?"

Ranma casually gripped his father's wrist and, applying sharp pressure to a nerve cluster as he twisted his grasp, forced the grip on his clothing to release. "Already told her, and she didn't get that mad at all. I'm going to be movin' in with her for a while."

"But what about Akane? Do you plan to neglect her again while you are gone?" Soun asked as he joined Genma in the entryway, blocking Kasumi completely out.

"Who said anything about neglect? You're the one who tossed me out, remember?" Ranma demanded.

"Well, I suppose I did act a bit rashly, perhaps. You may return to living here again, provided you fix the damage to the yard and wall with your new free time," Soun replied.

"Father, no!" Kasumi complained, grabbing his shoulder to get his attention. "It's no wonder Ranma shows us so little respect, considering you bow down so quickly whenever he complains. It's only been two nights since you enacted this punishment!"

"No problem, I'd rather move out for now anyways... let things cool down around here a bit," Ranma stated as he entered the home behind Soun's turned back. Without waiting for a reply, he dashed up the stairs, leaving his shoes to fall carelessly to the floor.

"There, do you see it? He came back in without being invited, and didn't even bother to put his shoes up properly!" Kasumi pouted, pointing at the floor.

Soun ignored her, turning to his friend who was rubbing idly at his wrist. "I don't like this, Saotome. I think we should keep Ranma here to ensure that he and Akane don't grow farther apart again."

"Agreed, old friend. Let me try and talk some sense into the boy," Genma intoned confidently before he lumbered up the steps as well.

"Father, why do you want him to stay here?" Kasumi asked in a pleading tone. "He has shown time and time again that he is incapable of showing proper respect to us, and he is a walking disaster area! It would be better for us all if he were to simply leave."

"Kasumi, why are you so adamant about this?" Son asked, concerned. "Do you not realize that if he leaves then the engagement between Akane and could become even more strained than it is now?"

"Father, there is almost no chemistry between them as it is! Akane is merely fixated on the competition for his hand, and Ranma feels only annoyance with all his pursuers," she explained, ignoring the sounds of a scuffle upstairs. "It's not just that though... every time I seen him lately I get a really bad feeling, like if I don't get him out of here something terrible is going to happen."

"But what if something terrible happens while Ranma isn't around to help?" Soun retorted. "I'm sure that the more time he spends with us the greater our chances of convincing him to marry Akane willingly become. His honor will ensure that he chooses correctly in the end."

"His honor? Father, I don't see what honor it is that you're referring to. He disobeys your rules and the laws of the country. He lies, cheats, and steals anything and everything that can help him with his martial arts. He argues with Akane constantly, disrupting the harmony of the home. He encourages other ill-mannered hooligans to invade our home at all hours of the day and night to fight him. He pays no heed to the damage to our property and reputation his antics cause," Kasumi stopped to take a breath, hardening her voice for the final charge. "Please, Father, he has to go. Just think of how he dishonors Mother's memory, by destroying her shrine, by not making any effort to repair the damage, or even taking the time to apologize to her. Then again..."

A heavy, meaty thump on the floor behind her gave Kasumi pause. She turned to find Genma lying unconscious in a heap. Ranma stood behind him at the foot of the stairs, with a stuffed backpack over one shoulder and a grim expression on his face.

"Don't stop on my account, he requested with a cold, hard voice. "Go ahead and finish your sentence, Kasumi."

She finished her statement without removing her eyes from Ranma. "Then again, perhaps you're somehow blinded to it, Father. You are after all friends with his father, who, were he a bit less lazy, would be just as bad as his son."

"Kasumi, this is uncalled for! You have insulted both of our guests with your unwarranted accusations!" Mr. Tendo cried, grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face him. "What has come over you lately?"

"Don't blame her, Mr. Tendo. She has her opinions, and they are just as true as anybody else's, I suppose. I'll be going now," Ranma stately flatly, stepping over his father's prone form.

She stepped behind him as he left. "Good! Leave, and never darken this door again, you honorless bastard!"

"Kasumi, you will stop this behavior at once! Your actions bring dishonor upon both our family names!" Soun shouted with anger and a touch of fear.

Ranma paused in his step, then turned to regard her with dangerously hardened eyes as his aura began to manifest itself visibly as a dark shroud.

She flinched at the sight, but felt even more determined to get him out of the home, one way or another. "Are you still here?"

The floorboards in contact with his blazing aura began to smolder and ash as he stood silently, staring her down. At length he threatened, "Would ya like me to teach your daughter some manners, Mr. Tendo?"

She smirked at his lack of a defense and against her comments, but was surprised when her father pulled her roughly aside by her arm and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth. She struggled against his grip as Ranma walked out the door, but he held her stiffly until the front door shut with a faint click.

"Father!" she demanded with her fists clenched, "how could you take his side?"

Soun slapped her across the face in response, hard enough to slightly stagger her. He turned his face from her as he decreed, "You shame me, Daughter. Go to your room, and stay there until I decide what to do about," he glanced at the singed floor meaningfully, "this."

Stunned, she held her hand against her reddening cheek and stared at him, but he would not return her gaze. With bitter tears on her face and desperate anger in her heart, she spat, "Enjoy your lunch, Father," before turning and running up the stairs.

**

* * *

**

Hibiki Ryoga was lost.

This was nothing out of the ordinary, but it annoyed him nevertheless, especially since he was actually trying to get to the bathroom. The reduced bladder size of his cursed form seemed incredibly inconvenient at times.

The sound of the doorbell vaguely registered in his mind, but was mostly ignored as he continued his four-legged pee-pee dance aimlessly through the Tendo home. The sound of Ranma's voice was unexpected, though, and sneaking towards the argument in progress was enough to make him momentarily forget his physical distress.

He reached a passable vantage point from the top of the staircase (wait, wasn't the bathroom supposed to be on the ground floor?) just in time to see Ranma slip past Kasumi and come barreling up the stairs towards him. Not prepared to face Ranma again, much less in this form, he turned and ran into the first open door he saw only to discover that he was now in Ranma's room. With a squeal he dove into the only reasonable hiding place, burrowing beneath the sheets as Ranma entered the room, grumbling.

Ryoga froze, watching intently from his hiding space as Ranma quickly packed all of his clothes and belongings into his well-worn traveling pack. Was Ranma leaving for good, finally stepping aside so that he could finally have a chance with Akane? No, Ranma was far too possessive for that. Even with his ever-growing harem, Ranma would never allow anyone to gain a bit of happiness under his nose.

"Stop, Boy, and think about what you're doing."

Ryoga turned slightly to notice Genma enter the room, just far enough to effectively guard the door.

Ranma gave a snort, but continued his packing. "I know exactly what I'm doin', Pop; I'm taking a vacation from my screwed-up life. Things are getting way too hectic lately, what with Saffron, the wedding, and all the rest. I need a break, a chance to clear my head."

"Boy... Son, if you walk out that door we both know you won't want to come back," Genma said with uncharacteristic softness. "I know I'm probably the last person qualified to say this, but if you don't stay here and face down your problems, your relationship with Akane will never improve."

"As if you really care..." Ranma replied as he tied the pouch closed. "If you really cared about me and Akane you wouldn't have engaged me to three different girls. I found out about Kuno Kodachi, by the way."

"I only did that as collateral, boy, to get enough money to support our trip, err, most of it anyway," Genma explained. "Would you have rather I'd put up the house, and risked leaving your mother homeless and alone? It was all for the art, boy, all for you."

"All for the art I buy, but I don't think you've ever done anything all for me," Ranma replied with sadness and anger. "You never really cared for me as anything other than a tool of the art, as a bargaining chip, or as a scapegoat. If you did, you wouldn't be trying to force me to marry someone I don't love, all for the sake of the school."

"Foolish boy, you don't even begin to comprehend the gifts I've given you, the risks I've taken and sacrifices I've made to make you the best man I could," Genma stated defensively, glowering until he caught his anger and forced it down. "Ranma, even if you don't love her now you will grow to love her in time, when all the complications of other fiancées are gone. We both know that deep down Akane is a very sweet girl and that she cares for you. Just give her a chance and I'm sure she'll make you a happy man."

"Is she really such a catch, pop? Sure, every once in a while she's pretty nice, and cute, but most of the time she's a complete pain in the ass to be around," Ranma stated, hefting his bag. "It's not enough, Pop. Those moments are too short and too rare to make up for the rest of her."

Ranma moved towards the door, but Genma refused to budge. "I already told you that I can't let you leave, Ranma."

"Well then you've got a problem, because you can't keep me here either," Ranma stated, settling into a modified horse stance. "I can go through the door or I can go through you and the door, Pop; your choice."

Genma took up a stance as well, rooting himself firmly to defend the doorway. "There is only one choice, Boy."

Ranma wasted no more words, charging his father with a vicious kick. Genma blocked and countered, and so continued the never-ending battle between father and son. Ranma's backpack slowed him down a bit, but Genma, forced to defend a position, was unable to really capitalize on this.

They tossed attacks back and forth, never scoring a clean hit, until Genma at last resorted to his special techniques. "Jigoku no Yurikago!" He cried, leaping towards Ranma with outstretched hands. Ranma leapt backwards to avoid the grappling technique, forcing Ryoga to abandon his hiding place for the relative safety of the closet.

"Not this time, Pop. Try that move again and I guarantee you'll regret it," Ranma threatened.

Genma paused, then snickered a bit. "Oh really? Let's see what you think you've got, boy! Jigoku no Yurikago!"

Ranma leaned back, crossing his arms before him as if to defend, but right as Genma descended onto him he raised his right leg, screaming "Kachu Tenshin Ashige!" as his leg blurred into a frenzy of powerful kicks to Genma's exposed abdomen and chest, concentrated on his diaphragm.

"See? That stupid move leaves you wide open to a quick attack, pop," Ranma commented, advancing on his father's kneeling form, gasping deeply to regain his breath. As Genma looked up slightly Ranma dashed forward, kneeing the fallen man in the face hard enough to launch him through the door and down the stairway. "All too easy..." Ranma sighed as he leapt down the stairs as well.

At last Ryoga crept out of hiding and made his way, after four wrong turns in the house, a brief sojourn through the yard and a across the street, to a bathroom. One leap into a furo and a much-needed use of the facilities later, he was back on the street.

Ryoga began wandering about town randomly, paying attention only to the daydreams that sprang up all around him. Ranma had all but invited him to take Akane off his hands! Now all he had to do was to break the news to Akane gently, deflecting all the blame for the relationship's failings to Ranma, of course, and then act the part of the concerned friend. Akane would surely fall for him and then all would be right in the world!

All he had to do to accomplish his goal now was to actually find Akane. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea where the school actually was... not that such knowledge would have helped much, really. Now he found himself somewhere in Nerima, wandering aimlessly through a market filled with unfamiliar faces.

"Sweeto, a garter belt!"

He turned on his heels towards the shout, watching as a small black blur danced through the crowds, flipping up skirts as it ran. Anger welled up in his heart at the sight, and, patiently waiting for the figure to immerge, he prepared to strike.

Suddenly the blur was past the last of the women and emerged from cover only to be met with an unexpected fist, pounding elbow-deep into the concrete-paved street.

"That's some punch you've got there, sonny," commented Happosai from his new perch on Ryoga's head, "But you have to actually land it before that power will do you any good." He bounced away as the lost boy reached for him, evading capture.

"I'll land one eventually you old bastard!" Ryoga yelled, "And then another, and another, until you've paid for stealing my cure!" He leapt to the rooftops, keeping pace.

"Yours? Funny, I was under the impression that the water belonged to Ranma," Happosai merrily remarked, weaving between attacks and across the roofs with little effort.

"That doesn't matter now!" Ryoga yelled, tossing a few bandanas.

Happosai casually dove between them. "Your right, it never mattered in the first place. That cursed water wouldn't have done anything but kill you, boy."

"You lying bastard! Shi-Shi Hokodan!" Ryoga screamed, throwing a fairly large blast of chi at the difficult-to-hit master.

Happosai reached into his shirt for his pipe, then spun it around his fingers as the blast approached. With a flick of the wrist he intercepted the blast, then with an almost casual spin on the tips of his toes he redirected the blast back along the same path it had followed to him.

Ryoga blinked twice at this, then quickly raised his arms in defense as his own attack slammed into him. He leaned forward against the attack and tensed his muscles, fighting against it's momentum, but his footing gave and he was overwhelmed. The attack threw him across the tiles and left him half embedded into the roof's rising slope, slightly singed.

"Such language... Youngsters these days have no sense of gratitude," the old man complained as he hopped over and bopped Ryoga on the head with his pipe. "That was Jusenkyo water all right, but it didn't have a curse yet. All you would have accomplished by pouring that on yourself would have been to create a new cursed pool, er, puddle. You should be glad I was there to dispose of it harmlessly"

"If that's true, why did you seem surprised when it wasn't sake?" Ryoga countered.

"Why, um, that's because..." Happosai began, but broke off as he weaved between two tentacle swipes and a snapping pincer.

Ryoga quickly turned his head to behold a huge, somewhat familiar looking creature glaring menacingly at the old master with golden, vertically slit eyes. The beast was nearly five meters tall and three and a half meters wide at the shoulder, a hulking form mostly covered by a thick orange and black striped pelt. It's feet, thick cloven hooves, did not touch the roof as it hovered slightly above the damaged surface, kept aloft by the rhythmic beating of two large gray-feathered wings. Its chest was protected by a glossy-finished black shell, and its arms ended in matching long, curved pincers. Its head was rather bovine-like with long whitish horns, from which a gray-scaled, ribbed hood extended to join with its thick neck. The same scales covered its abdomen and knees, small armored islands in a sea of fur. From its back extended four long purple tentacles, each tipped with a menacing looking barb, and a single grayish-green tail ending in a snapping-jawed head, all of which flailed around it in an almost hypnotic display.

"Pantyhose, my boy! My, you've changed since last we met... still playing in the springs I see." The old man looked the creature over from horns to hooves once, nodded to himself, and then ran like a man possessed.

"Hrrpooarrrsssii!" The thing roared, flying off in pursuit of the diminutive pervert.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Ryoga yelled, shaking himself loose of the debris and joining the chase.

**

* * *

**

"Do you like it?"

He turned to regard the lavender-haired girl next to him as he finished his first bite of her offered wares. The noodles still retained substantial forms, as if not cooked fully. The sauce was salty and sweet, though perhaps a bit too watery for his liking. The minced mushrooms could have been fresher, but the onions were perfect. All in all, the food was... adequate. "But of course I like it, Xian Pu. How could anything delivered from your personage be less then perfection itself?"

Shampoo looked away from the kendoist as she replied, "Great-Grandmother always makes the sauce too weak and the noodles have gotten a little stale."

"True enough, but I would challenge the word of anyone who claimed they were able to create a more enjoyable meal from such stock as you used," he answered with a prideful smirk. "I would punish them as blasphemers, and force them to repent their wicked lies set against your comestibles."

"You would do such a thing for the honor of an inferior product?" she asked with an annoyed tone. "Perhaps you are as foolish as I first thought."

"For your honor, I would," he replied sagely, "and if that makes me a fool, so be it."

"You don't mean that any more than Mu Tsu does," Shampoo replied with a slight frown. "You don't even know me."

He paused for moment in thought, then, studying her face intently for the lightest hint of her true feelings, he answered, "a wise man once said 'a truth, once known, requires no further proof of its veracity. The light of its nature will so shine forth unto his very being that to deny it would be to deny his own soul."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked neutrally, her eyes widening a bit... with hope?

"It means that I love you, Xian Pu," he confessed. "Before we were brought together by fate it was as if I were trapped in a fog, with only the distant voices of liars to guide my way."

She shook her head negatively, and argued without meeting his gaze, "You didn't even know my name before last night. You're just another love-sick fool like all the boys back in my village."

"Yet today it is as if the fog is gone," he whispered as he gently turned her head by the chin to meet his gaze, "When I look into your eyes, I feel I can finally see clearly what it is that I want. For the first time in as long as I can remember the only voice I hear in my mind is my own."

She held his gaze for a moment, searching the depths of his gray eyes, but abruptly snapped her eyes shut pulled away from him, clenching her fist. "You don't even know what love is. Just yesterday you were entranced by Tendo Akane and your 'pigtailed girl.' You don't love anyone; you're just a fool in love with love itself."

His conscience burned, dragging him bound through pits of fiery shame as he confronted her words. It was true, every word of it. He had fallen prey to obsession, not love, and had pursued his prey with all his might, until at last he chased them far from his grasp. Yet somehow, in a way he still couldn't put properly into words, he felt something different towards this girl before him. His honor demanded he protect her, her laws demanded he wed her, but his heart demanded nothing but patience and understanding.

"Captain!" Sato Toji, the head of the underclassman kendo squad, interrupted in Japanese as he approached, "Saotome has arrived!"

"Excellent! Lead me to him, then tend to the preparations," he commanded.

"How will you ensure that he will accept your terms?" Toji asked.

"He will accept them, for his pride will not allow otherwise. I will challenge him as stated because of the words of the eternally wise Sun Tsu: Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him."

Kuno turned on Shampoo with a determined look and informed her in Japanese, "You may have doubts about our future, but I shall set your heart free. I go now to challenge Saotome Ranma, and with the strength of your love and a mind clear of distraction surely I shall defeat him for your hand."

"You wait a second, Shampoo is not understanding! You challenge other airen now?" she asked, chasing him as he ran off, led by the younger student.

"That is what I intend, yes," he replied in a questioning tone.

"Challenge no be official unless elder watch," she replied, breaking off and heading for the fence. "Shampoo must get Great-Grandmother!" He smiled at her obvious eagerness to see him victorious as he followed his subordinate to the front gates where, as reported, Saotome Ranma was just passing through, ignoring the curious crowd of students.

"Didn't you get expelled?" asked a curious girl.

"You're here to kill the principal, right?" hoped a younger boy with a shaved head.

As he approached, a feeling of wrongness pervaded his mind, far stronger than ever before around the sorcerer, not simply in terms of his almost palpable evil but through subtle and mundane cues as well. For one, Saotome was not running or falling out of the sky as he entered the grounds, but rather stomping in a slow but determined gait. With clenched fists and an iron-hard glare Ranma appeared the very picture of wrath, yet he did not seem to affix that displeasure to anyone at all, as if the feelings his outlook betrayed were directed elsewhere.

For one brief moment, Kuno nearly lost his nerve, but the thought of facing Shampoo and her elder without a challenge to witness forced all such foolishness from his mind. With courage and decorum, he approached his target, only to be punched aside before he uttered even a single word.

"I'm not in the mood, Kuno," Ranma remarked offhandedly as he continued toward the doors. The crowd began to spread apart after the casual display of violence.

"Have you so little honor, Saotome, that you will not even wait until after I have presented my challenge to attack?" Tatewaki demanded, righting himself.

Ranma stopped and turned to face him. "You wanna challenge me?"

"Yes, I..." He began, but was cut off abruptly by yet another uncalled for attack, leaving him partially embedded in the wall.

"You lose," Ranma stated simply, then turned back toward the gates and reached for the door handle.

"You have not yet heard my challenge, fiend!" the kendoist cried as he freed himself from the shattered debris.

Ranma stopped once again, and, more slowly than last time, turned back yet again. "Fine, go ahead and talk all you want. Just let me know when it's time to maim you," he announced, then began cracking his knuckles methodically, one joint at a time, while staring at Kuno unblinkingly.

"It has come to my attention that you are in the habit of conforming to the style of many of your opponents, such as a skating match at that occurred some time ago." Tatewaki looked to his opponent for confirmation, but, finding none, continued. "In all this time, not once have we crossed within my chosen field of combat, Kendo. It just so happens that I have arranged for all the necessary equipment and officials to be present, and have them waiting in the gymnasium at this very moment."

Ranma blinked, then grabbed Kuno's collar and pulled him face to face. "Let me get this straight... You want to challenge me to a fight using your stupid stick-fighting crap? And you honestly think that this will make even the slightest difference in the outcome?"

"Today is the day you fall, demon, and your evil soul will be revealed before all," Tatewaki replied confidently.

"Fine then, I'll accept your terms just this once." Ranma released his grip with a smirk. "I was on my way to get something out of my gym locker anyway."

**

* * *

**

"Look, I told you already that I don't need this crap," Ranma stated, staring down the other boy. "You want me to wear these silly black pajamas, fine, but I don't need any stupid armor. It's not like the idiot could hurt me, even if he did manage to hit me, which he won't."

"And as I told you, it isn't up for discussion," Sato replied, hefting the protective jacket in question with obvious effort. "The rules explicitly state that all participants must wear all of the proper protective gear, so unless you want to forfeit this match I suggest you let me walk you through putting this 'crap' on."

"Fine then," Ranma grumbled, sliding his arms through the appropriate holes as his classmate held it out for him. "Geez, is it supposed to be this heavy? This thing must weigh at least three hundred kilos. Stupid thing gets in the way of my arms, too."

"It's, um," Toji paused as he circled around to Ranma's back and began to lace up the chest plate, "supposed to, ah, simulate the weight of the armor that samurai traditionally war into battle."

"But that's stupid!" Ranma rebuked. "Sure, they needed to wear armor in an open battlefield to protect them from attacks by opponents from all angles, but this is a one-on-one fight so all it does is slow you down."

"There are rules to this art, Saotome, and the sooner you realize that the better your chances to actually give the Captain the showdown he craves." Toji finished tying the laces with a final hard tug, and came back into Ranma's view. "I'll begin to explain them while you put on the rest of the equipment."

"It's fairly simple, isn't it? Hit with the stick and stay in bounds." Ranma stated, annoyed, as he began to lace up one of his thickly padded gloves, noting the excessive weight of it's sewn-in armor plates as well.

Toji sighed as he laced up the other glove. "Kendo is a much deeper art form of strategy, tactics, and skill then that, Saotome, but essentially you are correct."

"Great then, let's go get this over with." Ranma grabbed his helmet and followed the other boy out into half-filled gym.

He strode confidently towards the marked arena, where his opponent stood waiting for him attended by the rest of the Furinkan kendo team and several uniformed judges. Surveying the audience as he stepped to the marked arena, he noted the presence of Akane, Ukyo, and Nabiki without surprise, but seeing Cologne and Shampoo here as well slightly unnerved him. All but Cologne cheered as he stepped into the ring.

"Are you prepared, Saotome?" asked Mr. Namura, the P.E. coach. When Ranma nodded, he walked behind him and pulled slightly at the lacing of his chest guard. "I am marking you as red for scoring purposes," he explained.

"Always been my favorite color," Ranma replied. Seeing Kuno's back being marked with a white ribbon, he approached his rival and offered, "Since I won't be back to this school again, how about we place a bit of a wager on the outcome of this fight, just to tie things up between us?"

"Indeed, I would not oppose such a request, were it made reasonably," Kuno replied.

"Well then, how about this? If I win, your family calls of this engagement business between Kodachi and me."

Kuno shook his head firmly. "Nay, that I cannot abide. My sister's affairs are not mine to wager on. I suggest that when I am victorious you shall remove your enchantments from every girl under your dark compulsions."

"I can't remove what ain't there. How about if I win, you vow to leave Akane and the pig-tailed-girl alone?" Ranma tried again.

"You know, it isn't very wise to place wagers right in front of the judges, boys," Mr. Namura said from behind as he finished the knot.

Ranma bristled for a moment, but then remembered to whom it was he was talking. "Fine, forget it then. Lets just get this started already."

"Are the contestant's ready?" asked Mr. Namura as he took the position of head referee.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Verily."

"Then take your positions, and on my signal, begin."

Ranma fell into a slightly crouching stance, holding his weapon with one hand to his side and pointing forward. He held this pose for several seconds, eying his opponent. When the signal did not come after nearly 15 seconds of motionless concentration, he glanced at the referee to see what the trouble was.

"Mr. Saotome, you must begin in the proper stance," Mr. Namura explained, gesturing towards Kuno.

With a sigh, Ranma forced himself to take on the stiff-feeling posture that Kuno held, standing straight upright with his feet slightly apart and his shinai held before him with both hands. As soon as the signal was given, he stepped back and into his former stance, easily avoiding Kuno's opening horizontal strike.

For a few brief moments they traded blows, testing the defenses of the other, until Ranma spun around a downward strike to contact with Kuno's temple strongly. The bamboo staff shattered with the impact, and his opponent was knocked to the ground just barely within the arena's limits.

"Halt!"

Ranma waited as one of the two sub-referees handed him a new weapon and his opponent regained his footing, taking up the same stance in the middle of the arena yet again. With a smirk, Ranma took his place.

"Begin!"

There was no testing period this time, as Ranma attacked immediately, knocking his opponent's guard away with several quick blows to once again break his weapon across Kuno's temple, from the other side this time.

"Halt!"

"Well that was easy," Ranma said, handing the broken handle to the waiting sub-referee. He was surprised, however, when it was replaced with another.

"Hey, what gives? I won, right?" he demanded.

"Won? Mr. Saotome, you have yet to score even one point. In fact, if you break one more shinai I will dock you a point for un-sportsmanlike conduct. Now take your position and fight properly! Begin!"

Ranma's mouth fell from a smirk to a hard line as the match began again. He began to fight more defensively, paying more attention to an internal replay of the information he had been given than to the actions of his opponent.

At first, it was all Kuno could do to keep his defense up, slowly giving ground as Ranma attacked relentlessly. He parried the brunt of the attack, but was forced to slowly give ground until he was pushed to the edge of the ring. Ranma attacked with a final strong blow, and though Kuno managed to parry it, he was forced to move his left foot back to maintain his balance.

Ranma immediately backed up after the attack and pointed his shinai at Kuno. "There, he stepped outside the ring! Point for me!" he declared.

Mr. Tamura shook his head, cleared his throat nervously, and then answered, "No, Mr. Saotome, you did not. Mr. Kuno's foot did not completely cross the foul line, and if it had I would have penalized you a point for unfair pushing."

"What do you mean? I hit him fair and square!" Ranma demanded.

"The referee's ruling on the court is final!" Mr. Tamura declared. The other referee's looked at him oddly, but made no comment.

"Begin!"

Ranma circled his opponent for several minutes, trading blows at a frantic place without either scoring a telling blow as he continued to ponder the situation. For over a minute after realizing that he was simply missing some piece of information, he began to strike in different locations, pulling his attacks to avoid breaking the weapon, but to no avail. Finally acting out in annoyance, Ranma stepped back and dropped his guard completely.

With a sudden shout, his opponent's weapon swung forcefully toward his neck, and Ranma only smiled as the blow connected.

**

* * *

**

"Hey Nabiki! What are the odds on Ranma for this fight?" Ukyo asked, running towards the Tendo in question while waving a fist full of bills. Even if the payout wasn't that great, Ranma's sure victory over Kuno could help a little to ward off having to make a certain dreaded call back home.

"Sorry, Ukyo, all bets are closed. Might as well have a seat and watch the fight with us, though," Nabiki replied, motioning towards several empty spots on the bench next to her younger sister. "Hoping to pay back your debts with winnings from me? Not likely."

"Damn it," she muttered, annoyed at being read so easily. She caught Akane's glance, noting the lingering anger that was still directed at her.

Nabiki glanced back and forth between the two other girls before scooting next to her sister, leaving Ukyo room to set apart from the angry girl.

"Any idea why Ranma is even here, Nabiki? I heard that he was expelled yesterday," Ukyo asked, prompting Akane to smolder slightly for an unknown reason and turn away abruptly. "And what is her problem?" she whispered.

"No idea, on either count," Nabiki admitted. "To be honest, I'm still puzzled over how Kuno managed to set all this up without my knowledge. I've just had a weird feeling all day though, and that's why there is no betting: Just in case something unpredictable happens. You understand, of course."

"Yeah, I understand," Ukyo sighed. She completely understood that in any situation involving too much unpredictability Nabiki would not allow others to profit at her expense.

"I trust you won't mind our company?" asked Cologne as she pogoed to a stop next to Ukyo, with Shampoo in tow. "These appear to be rather good seats for the upcoming challenge."

"You're here to watch the fight?" Akane asked abruptly, while putting the pieces together in her head. "And Shampoo has been hanging around Kuno all afternoon and acting weird in general... They must have some crazy plan using Kuno to force Ranma to go back to China!" Akane stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the elder.

Cologne only chuckled slightly. "Calm yourself, child. Your paranoia is charming to an extent, but in this matter it is woefully misplaced. I assure you that I only learned of this challenge a few moments ago myself."

"That doesn't exactly answer the question of why you suddenly took an interest in Ranma and Kuno's rivalry, or why Shampoo was here this morning and again now, does it, Cologne?" Nabiki replied, glancing at the Amazons out of the corner of her eye.

"It no your business what we do, Mercenary Girl," Shampoo snorted, turning her attention to the gym floor. "Quiet now, is starting."

They watched as the two opponents talked for a moment privately before the match began, at which point Akane spoke up. "Ranma you dummy... You don't have the slightest idea what you are getting into, do you?"

"Why do you say that, child?" asked Cologne without looking away from the proceedings.

"His stance, the way he's holding the shinai... It's just obvious that he doesn't know much about Kendo at all. That stance looks more like something out of a classical kenjitsu, like Muso Shinden Ryu."

"He doesn't?" Ukyo asked. "Why would he accept the challenge then?"

With a sigh, Nabiki answered. "That, Kuonji, is one of Ranma's little blind spots that I thought he had finally grown out of, rearing its ugly head once again. Before you showed up, Ranma actually participated in quite a few martial arts challenges in areas that he had no knowledge of at all before accepting the challenge, and a few since then as well. He's been in martial arts contests based on rhythmic gymnastics, a watermelon relay race, the tea ceremony, ramen noodle deliveries, French gourmet dining..."

"Don't forget the paired ice skating match, or the time he turned Romeo and Juliet into a four-way brawl," Akane added. "And he didn't even know how to skate or who Romeo was before he started those fiascos!" Ukyo boggled as the list continued, and Cologne even showed a hint of surprise at a few of the listed events.

"But he won them all, right?" Ukyo asked while remembering her earlier meeting with the Golden Pair.

"Eventually, yes," Akane answered, hesitantly adding, "but almost every time he was lousy when he started, and needed a couple of days to prepare for the rematch."

"Interesting..." Cologne commented, squinting slightly as Ranma and Kuno made their opening strikes.

"See, right there!" Akane exclaimed as the shinai broke across Kuno's head. "That would have been a point if only Ranma had bothered to call his hit out loud as he attacked. I bet he doesn't even know that he has to."

"What a strange rule. Tell me, what are the official rules for this contest?" Cologne asked without looking away from the match.

"Well, It's fairly simple, really," Akane began. "They have to hit their opponent with a properly called strike to one of several targets, including the head, throat guard, chest, and the reinforced area of the forward-most arm guard. Whoever scores two points within the time limit wins."

"And what of the marked lines?" the elder inquired. "Is there a reason that Ranma is pushing his opponent towards the line?"

"Yeah, they are supposed to stay in that area. If they step outside they are penalized a point, but if they are pushed out then the penalty is reversed," Akane explained.

Cologne was somewhat surprised at this, and listened carefully as the head official explained this point again to Ranma. "Penalties? Are there more such rules?"

"There are rules against leg sweeps, grappling, pushing, prolonged weapon-to-weapon contact, and a bunch of other points of good sportsmanship," Akane replied.

Shampoo complained, "Is stupid art, have too too many rules."

"Well, it was originally created as an attempt by sword masters to preserve some of Japan's rich traditions after it became illegal to carry swords in public," Nabiki explained absently. "In that light, it has succeeded admirably." The conversation died away after this.

As the fight wore on and Ranma's attacks grew more desperate, Ukyo felt progressively more guilt about trying to capitalize on her Ranchan's potential loss in progress. "Is it just me, or is Ranma looking a bit slower than usual, too?" she asked.

"Shampoo no want to mention, but Airen look tired, like have no stamina," the younger amazon replied. "Not used to fight with armor, no?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Akane answered, "the protective gear is just plastic and cloth, so it doesn't weigh all that much."

"More interesting still," Cologne commented gravely. "Perhaps young Tatewaki is more cunning than I had guessed."

"Are you crazy? He's getting beaten all over the ring! Why in the hell would he be holding back?" Ukyo demanded. Cologne neglected to answer, leaving Ukyo to silently grumble.

As one, the crowd went silence when Ranma dropped his weapon and stood still, allowing Kuno to score a clean hit. "Airen... give up?" Shampoo asked hesitantly.

"No way..." Akane trailed off.

"Point, white!" announced all three referees simultaneously, raising white flags.

Rather than leave, Ranma picked up his discarded weapon and stood in the ready position, awaiting the referee's command to continue the match. Kuno took a moment to study his opponent before raising his shinai to match.

"What the hell just happened?" Akane asked, confused.

"You said it yourself, Akane. He probably didn't know what he had to do to actually score a hit," Nabiki began.

"So Ranchan let Kuno score a point to find out?" Ukyo asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Begin!"

Immediately after the command was given Ranma sprang to the attack, forcing Kuno to back up as the flurry of swings assaulted him. Again and again Ranma stuck, but Kuno continued to simply back up and defend, allowing nothing to slip through his guard.

Ranma and Kuno's contest ceased as the staccato attacks gave way to a sudden pause. Ranma stepped back from his opponent and raised his weapon slowly, watching as Kuno held his guard at a matching height.

With a yell Ranma charged, swinging his weapon in a wide horizontal slash so quickly that from the stands it almost looked like he wasn't holding anything at all. Kuno moved to counter, but found himself pressing his weapon not against his opponent's 'blade', but against the handle. With the shinai held in an underhand grip, Ranma twisted upwards, striking his solidly beneath his foe's throat guard and knocking him out of the ring.

**

* * *

**

"Point, white!"

He watched as his foe retrieved his misplaced tool and took the proper stance opposite him. Noting the eager gleam in his opponent's eye, the Blue Thunder shifted his stance slightly, tightening his guard in anticipation of the assault he expected.

The battle was rejoined. After several more blows, Kuno noticed that the attacks were coming with slightly less force. He noted the slight sheen of perspiration that made itself known under his foe's mask with interest. Could it be that the demon was lacking in stamina? With a new strategy, Kuno abandoned the idea of his own offense for the time being, willing to see if he could weaken his opponent further with a prolonged waiting game.

After many more blows Kuno suddenly found himself left alone, as Ranma suddenly broke away from the conflict. Tatewaki searched his foe's steeled eyes as he stood some distance away, breathing deeply and quickly, until Ranma's eyes narrowed slightly and his foot shifted forward. Expecting a desperate attack, he planned to strike while his opponent's guard was wide open.

Moving to counter the attack, Tatewaki confidently braced his weapon. Mere words cannot express the profound surprise he felt when he found himself inexplicably on his back moments later.

"Point, red!" the head referee crowed as Kuno regained his footing.

"Pray tell, how is it that I am scored upon? Is not sorcerous trickery prohibited?" Kuno demanded.

"I must admit, it was rather unorthodox form, but regardless Saotome did manage to strike you in accordance with the rules," Mr. Namura clarified, looking more at the crowd than at the kendoist. "Take your position, Mr. Kuno, and continue."

Kuno walked to face his waiting opponent, but did not raise his blade. "You do realize that at the moment of the official's signal we shall have but mere moments to decide this bout, or it shall be regretfully labeled a draw? No more holding back, Saotome. Let this final blow conclude our business!"

"Do what you want, Kuno," Ranma replied cockily, "But I'm going to win anyway."

Tatewaki raised his shinai into position, and at the official's call of "Match point, begin!" he dashed forward, yelling "Strike, strike, strike..." as he swung rapidly.

Wide eyed, Ranma leapt fully over his opponent's head to avoid the attack, landing heavily behind him. "What the heck is that? I thought we weren't allowed to use any special techniques!"

"I fail to see what is special about attacking quickly," Kuno replied, turning to his opponent. "Now face me, and let our blades determine all!" Kuno charged, attacking with blinding speed as he yelled once again.

Ranma met him with the cry "Katsu Tenshin Amaguriken!" his form blurring as well.

Almost as soon as it began, the final confrontation ended. Simply overwhelmed by the speeds his opponent was capable of, Kuno Tatewaki found himself disarmed with a blow to his wrist, followed immediately with a called strike to the throat. Ranma put no force behind the attack, though, instead freezing at the moment of contact.

"Point... Red." the referee admitted ruefully, causing the audience to roar with applause as the bloody-hued banners rose.

Ranma chose this moment to shove the blade under the throat guard, then, with an upward shove, to knock the Blue thunder to his back yet again, removing his helmet at the same time. With a contemptuous gesture he removed his own helmet and tossed both it and his shinai at the fallen captain's face, shouting, "You honestly thought a pathetic weakling like you could beat me? Me! I killed a God just eight days ago! Making me fight you under this retarded sport's regulations doesn't the change the fact that you will never be my equal because I have no equals!"

Mr. Namura paused, and with a stony expression yelled, "Penalty! White wins!" Dead silence.

"Bullshit he does!" Ranma yelled, turning on the referee. "I scored two points so I win, you said so yourself!"

"As per articles eighteen and nineteen, 'it will be considered a foul action to insult an opponent or a referee.' Article twenty-two states that 'the competitor that commits the foul in article nineteen shall lose the match and leave the court. The opponent will be given two points. If the player committing the foul has scored up to this point, the points shall be forfeited completely.'" Seeing Ranma's disbelieving look, he continued, "You did state that you were prepared for the match, did you not? That implies full familiarity with all the rules and regulation of the match."

"But I already won!" Ranma demanded. "The match was over before I said anything!"

"The match is not over until I announce the winner, Mr. Saotome, which I have now done," the referee declared. With a disdainful look, Mr. Namoura turned his back and walked away from the arena, followed soon after by the assistant referees.

Ranma ignored the comment, raising his weapon. "I want a rematch, Kuno, right here and right now!"

Kuno stood up, offered a short bow to Ranma and them the audience, before saying simply, "Your request is denied." He walked away, darkly pondering the odd nature of his victory, ignoring Ranma, who stood rooted in place, quaking with anger.

**

* * *

**

From his perch in the iron rafters of the gym ceiling he had a perfect view of all the proceedings. He didn't care who won, really... he only had to wait until the fight was over, allowing him to surprise and defeat whomever came out on top. Surely Shampoo would stop ignoring him when he had managed to defeat the greatest of her two suitors, right?

It was all rather confusing, really. Ranma was clearly winning the fight, yet the witnesses apparently failed to notice, requiring still more proof of his dominance. When Ranma finally stopped and took a hit, Mousse finally understood: this wasn't a fight; it was some sort of damned sporting event! Leave it to these backwards Japanese to ruin a good and pure thing like fighting with restrictive rules and silly concepts like sportsmanship and points.

Watching the match as it came to a conclusion, Mousse's anger boiled over. These two idiots, these perverters of the art, were somehow deemed worthy of Shampoo, while the love of a loyal and honorable man such as himself was ignored and scorned? Even the Elder seemed to favor this new fool, though he could not begin to fathom why. "Is there no justice in this world?" he muttered.

With a scream of rage, he tossed a handful of eggshell bombs at the retreating victor. As the kendoist jumped back, he dove from nearly three stories above towards his prey, leading with his hawk's talon attack. At the last moment, his aim was thrown off as Ranma jump-kicked the victorious swordsman out of his path. Mousse crashed into the floor, shattering the smooth wooden planks at impact as his legs refused to buckle.

As the dust settled he saw Ranma tearing off his armor, allowing the heavy metal plates to clank loudly as they struck the floor. "Damn it, Mousse, this is my fight! If you have some beef with Kuno it will have to wait until I'm done with him!"

"You had your chance, Saotome!" He yelled back, freeing himself from the floor and producing a large iron-ribbed cudgel from his robes.

Kuno paused for a moment to study Ranma's removed armor, and then tossed aside his shinai in favor of the bokken that Toji had brought to his side. "You are both cowards, attacking without warning like honorless dogs. If it is defeat you crave, then Kuno Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, is more that willing to oblige you!

At some unspoken signal all three charged, and the biggest, most destructive brawl in all of Nerima history had officially begun.

**

* * *

**

"Ranma, you idiot. All you had to do was shut up, bow, and leave to win. But no, you just had to prove your point, had to get the last word in, didn't you?" Akane said wistfully as she watched Mr. Namura explain the details of the penalty.

"Killed a god?" Cologne repeated, then turned to look at the younger Amazon next to her with a hard glare. "I believe you have some explaining to do."

Shampoo gulped and looked away, then tried to change the subject. "Shampoo no understand... Who is winning challenge, Great-Grandmother?"

"Very well, I will give you time to collect your thoughts on the subject," Cologne remarked, not fooled in the slightest. "By Joketsuzoku standards Ranma clearly was the superior fighter and winner, but because he technically lost according to the rules he agreed to, I am not sure. Young Tatewaki's cunning in this matter is commendable, but to win on a technicality, especially one that occurred after the fight had already ended, is not our way. I think that I must conclude this match was a draw, Great-Granddaughter."

"Um, what are you talking about?" Ukyo asked. "You make it sound as if this fight had some significance to you, outside of simple curiosity."

"Yes, you still haven't answered my question Cologne. Just what exactly," Nabiki began to ask, but was cut off as explosions rocked the floor, "...the hell was that!"

"Looks like Mousse to me," Akane stated, squinting to see through the debris and rising smoke.

"Aiya! Stupid Mousse no hurt Shampoo's airens!" The purple haired warrior yelled, leaping over the guardrail to join the fray below.

"Hey, is that Kodachi? What the heck is she doing here?" Ukyo growled, pointing to a smaller form dancing among the growing crowd of combatants. "I owe that little tramp a beating for what she said to me this morning!"

Akane caught arm as Ukyo rose from her seat and readied her combat spatula. "She came to try and buy you off, too?" Akane asked, then continued after Ukyo's terse nod. "Alright, how about a truce for now?"

Ukyo nodded again, answering resolutely, "For now." They both jumped into the battle, making a line for the leotard-clad girl.

**

* * *

**

"Unbelievable. Only Ranma could turn a simple one-on-one kendo match into a free-for-all riot," Nabiki deadpanned, snapping yet another photo. "Ranma already told me most of what happened, you know. For a price I could be persuaded to share this information with you, to compare with whatever Shampoo and Mousse decided to tell you, of course."

"No, that won't be necessary, Miss Tendo," Cologne replied. "I have my own ways to ensure that those two won't hold any more information back from me."

"Suit yourself," Nabiki muttered, then turned her attention back to the fight with a shrug, carefully keeping her face neutral as she fought back her disappointment.

As she watched the fight went from two combatants to three, then at least seven by the time her sister decided to get involved, and after the entire kendo squad had decided to 'defend the honor of their captain and school' she had completely lost count. Now it was almost a living, growing organism, a rolling mass composed solely of violence and idiocy, absorbing anyone willing to jump in (or simply standing too close), regardless of martial skill or even rational motivation.

"Heh, look at Kodachi go!" Daisuke laughed.

"I don't think I've ever seen Ukyo that mad before!" Hiroshi replied.

"Whoa, Akane really nailed Jiro with that one!" Yuka commented, flinching at the obviously painful moment.

"Hey, is Ranma doing that black thingy again?" Sayuri asked, slightly fearful.

Nabiki's attention was dragged to the far wall as an explosion created a gaping hole to the outside. Immediately Happosai jumped through the new opening, weaving his way into the crowd, followed closely by Ryoga and, um, some big flying thing. She squinted at the creature, at first noticing its similarity to Pantyhose Taro, but then dismissing the possibility. He hadn't looked like that in his cursed form before, had he?

"Happy never could stand to be left out," Cologne commented dryly. "I'm suddenly reminded of the... time..." she trailed off, turning to study Sayuri with a questioning glance.

"What?" Nabiki asked as Cologne trailed off suddenly, shivering slightly as a mysterious chill ran down her spine.

Cologne didn't answer, instead leaping to the guard rail and shouting desperately, "Shampoo, get out of there now!"

Before Nabiki could ask why, an inhuman bellow of rage tore through the din of the melee, followed by a veritable tidal wave of what she could only describe as luminous darkness; a wet-looking, shiny void of solid night that expanded across the entire floor or the gymnasium. It didn't stop at the edge of the bleachers either, blasting it's way through the uninvolved spectators on the lower floor despite their sudden screams of fear, and quickly reaching the balcony as well. Cologne even turned to run, to Nabiki's ultimate surprise, but to no avail as the wave crashed across the both of them like a wall of sub-zero water.

Almost as soon as it had come, the chilling energy receded, revealing a gaping crater where the floor had been. At its center she thought she saw Ranma floating in midair and howling with his head thrown back, framed by wispy, shifting black forms that almost looked like fluttering wings. She looked on him as a horrible, brutal, yet impossibly beautiful angel of death as the world around her grew dark and she collapsed into the waiting arms of sweet unconsciousness.

**

* * *

**

It was awake. It opened its eyes and looked on the world around it for the first time in over a century. It reveled in its returning memories, a flood of experience several mortal lifetimes long, all in the exhilarating rush of all its senses activated at once. It was free, finally free!

It examined its arms, gauging the woefully lacking strength they should hold, the arcane powers its will should be able to direct with but a gesture and a thought. No, it amended, not free yet. Its mind was free, but its powers and true form were still sealed away by the wards.

Yet, was this not enough to reclaim the other two? It smiled, a cold, cruel thing, portraying neither joy nor mirth.Yes, with but a little effort all its former abilities would be returned to it, and then it could at last return to it's true realm.

The boy would be the key. Already his own awakening had begun, and by the time it was completed everything would be opened at their feet. No need for haste though: there was time enough for the process to complete, time enough to plan and prepare.

Time enough for revenge.

**Author's notes:**

First off, let me apologize for scene four. I'm absolutely sure that I've managed to horribly butcher the Chinese language in my clumsy attempt to translate 'Kuno-speak' into 'Romanized' Modern Mandarin. Not speaking the language myself, nor knowing anyone who does, I was forced to make do with a hunt and peck approach with the aid of an Internet dictionary, (http/easyhosting. If any bilingual readers wish to correct my mistakes, please feel free to send me an e-mail. If you don't speak Chinese, don't feel the need to go out of your way  
to translate the few sentences written in the language. I swear that there is nothing there of interest, aside from a few bits of information that could be guessed just from the context and the imposed grammar. No secret hints about the real plot of the story there at all, nope, none...

The wise man quote Kuno offers is actually a slightly paraphrased line from Rene Descartes. It was actually referring to one of his rather weak proofs for the existence of God, but if any fictional character has license to misquote completely out of context a French philosopher who died a long, long time ago, it has gotta be Kuno.

Just in case you're wondering, these actually are the real rules of Kendo, as per an Internet source whose address escapes me currently. I was web surfing and curious, and the rule about insults leapt out at me as a plot device just begging for use in a Ranma fic.

If you were bothered by the sudden tonal changes throughout this act, congratulations! You got the point! It was my intention in this act, and  
this chapter especially, to illustrate the fact that what may seem like comedy to an outside observer may in fact be an extremely unpleasant situation to those involved in it. The involvement of the audience in the "Blacklight Nova" right after their seemingly innocent enjoyment of the spectacle acts, in a way, as little bit of vengeance from the characters who's living nightmares are just so much entertainment fodder for the masses...

The title of the act refers to the fact that because of the existence of friction, the creation of a machine that can utilize true perpetual motion is a scientific impossibility. Likewise, the little frictions that Ranma deals with in his day-to-day life must eventually lead to the breakdown of the familiar routines of Nerima. Entropy prevails.

New special techniques (in order of appearance):

Kachu Tenshin Ashige Imperial Chestnuts Kick

**NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2**

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	6. Shuffling the Deck of Fate: Act 3, pt 1

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall**  
A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 3: Shuffling the Deck of Fate  
**Part 1

**"Insider" Pre-readers:**  
Freak 247

**"Outsider" Pre-readers:**  
Aondehafka  
Goddess Esteria  
Grookill  
Jason Miao  
Jeram  
Trunkyboy  
Zorknot

**Brief Summary of Previous Acts:**  
After the wedding attempt, Ranma accidentally destroyed the Tendo dojo, and things have just been getting worse for him ever since. In the last week he's been injured, suffered constant nightmares, gotten into numerous fights, suffered ridicule for his virginity, been caught up in another love potion fiasco, put under pressure from his parents and the Tendos to settle the engagement problem, kicked out of the dojo, been expelled from school, engaged to Kodachi officially, and even lost a challenge to Kuno on a technicality. When everything came to head following the challenge and a massive free-for-all broke out, Ranma (perhaps understandably) lost his temper and unleashed a newly discovered chi technique... with disastrous effects.

**

* * *

**  
The forest was a dark presence, its thick foliage and twisting branches were a danger that he recognized instantly. Fog rolled across the tangled underbrush, further enshrouding the hidden recesses of this cursed land from his wary gaze. The wind blew freely, cold and sharp, bringing with it distant cries of anguish from the shadowy denizens of this phantasmal realm.

Yes, Ranma had come to know this dream quite well, or at least he thought he had. He had begun to doubt his presumptions of how this dream would play out when he realized for the first time that he was not actually in the forest, but looking down on it from a barren rocky outcropping. Curious, he turned his gaze away from the forest to its farthest borders, seemingly endless seas of gently rolling hills and grassy plains that, in the right lighting, would look quite pleasant. To the near side, the forest was bordered by steeply slopped cliffs, reaching up into threatening jagged mountain peeks.

Above the mountaintops a storm grew, though this was unlike any storm he had ever seen before. Thick black clouds circled overhead, though in apparently random patterns that exposed the occasional bit of blood-red sky. Lightning continuously cracked between these shifting forms in such rapid succession that Ranma could not tell where one rolling peal of thunder ended and the next began. The smell of ozone was thick in the air, but could not mask the scent of approaching rain.

Was he making progress? Had he begun his escape from the nightmares that had plagued his sleep for days, or was he simply moving deeper into the terrain towards the blackened heart of his terror? Well, as long as there were no cats and creepy dead guys around, he considered it a step in the right direction.

A deep, haunting voice asked from behind him, "Impressive view is it not?"

Ranma didn't need even one guess to know that the pale man had come to trouble him yet again. He leapt to his guard and faced the man, but kept his muscles tense, ready to run or to fight without hesitation. "Stay back!" he commanded, trying desperately to ignore the conflicting feelings in his gut that filled him with dread and a strange sort of attractive familiarity at the same time.

The man lowered his shifting-hued hood and shook out his tangled black hair with a grin. "Relax, boy... take a moment to enjoy the landscapes of your soul," he advised offhandedly as he took a deep breath. "If you would only grasp a hold of your thoughts the process would be far simpler for everyone involved."

"What process?" Ranma demanded. "What do you mean by the landscape of my soul?"

The man gave a predatory smile before answering, "It's very simple, really. This entire world is a manifestation of your subconscious soul, a living metaphor for your life. Around the edges it has been warped by the connections you've made with others, but essentially it is all your own creation. The girl, Nabiki, brought those plains with her a few days ago when summoned her, for example. This mountain, on the other hand, was my idea." He leaned casually backwards as the solid rock wall remolded itself to accommodate him, and took another wide glance across the horizon. Not my usual favored climate, mind you, but it seemed to fill the symbolic needs rather well... don't you agree?"

Ranma ignored the man's flippant comments to ask, "What about the forest? Why is it here?"

"Why ask me?" the man replied, crossing his arms so that the pale flesh of his hands poked out from beneath the shifting fabric. "You made it, after all, so it's your metaphor to unravel."

Ranma looked out at the landscape below him in silence for a moment with both curiosity and suspicion. His eyes traced over the tops of the forest canopy, followed the silent flight of birds in the distant skies, noted every hill and plain, every rock and crevice, but no meaning came to him. If this shadowed land was indeed a reflection of his soul, then it had chosen to remain as inscrutable as it had always been.

With a frustrated growl and a toss of his head, Ranma turned to regard the cloaked figure, only to discover that he was alone on the cliffside. The dark stranger loomed from above, prompting him to scale the nearly sheer rocks to the next small ledge. Pulling himself up to the ledge, the young man angrily demanded, "What is it you want from me? Why show me all this?"

The pale man smirked, his eye sockets brightening as the points of flame within them grew larger, as he replied "All I want from you from now on is for you to be yourself. You've made far better progress today than I expected... I hadn't anticipated reaching this stage of the game for at least a week."

"Damn it, I'm tired of the riddles and half-spoken lies! If you want something from me then tell me flat out so I can tell you where to stuff it!" Ranma snarled, taking up a ready stance.

The man let loose real laughter now, not a full belly laugh but laughter none the same. It was cut short, however, when Ranma belted him across the face with a savage right hook, sending the robbed figure stumbling back several steps.

"You... struck me." The man's accusatory tone was sharp and cold, like a razor-edged sliver of ice creeping through one's veins. His eyes however told a slightly different story, their fearful twitching revealing his uncertain bearing. One pale hand came up to touch his cheek while the other was held out before him in a warding gesture.

"Damn right I did, and I'll do it again if you don't stop speaking in riddles!" Ranma threatened, advancing.

"I believe that I've said enough for the time being," the mysterious figure replied, never unlocking his gaze from Ranma's. "Besides, you have things to attend to in the waking world."

"Coward!" Ranma yelled as the figure faded into the shadows. He charged at the vanishing form, but only managed to pass through it like brick through mist, dashing unavoidably face first into the hardened rock surface of the sheer cliffside. He clearly perceived the sharp crack of the rock shattering beneath his blow as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his rattled skull.

He lay on the ground for a moment with his eyes tightly closed, ignoring the pain as he tried to fight through a sudden sickening feeling of dizziness that sent spasms rolling through his gut. Stars and geometric patterns swirled past his vision at frantic pace through his closed eyes. His blood pounded through his ears at an equally quick rate, deafening him to all but the constant deep throbbing. He tasted bitter copper, smelled pungent brimstone, and felt nothing but his own taut scalp and the thousand silver pinpricks of numbed nerve endings. His muscles began to twitch uncontrollably, causing his fingers and toes to curl tightly and his mouth to open in a wordless scream.

Forcing himself through sheer will to ignore the flood of sensation, Ranma retreated to his center, his abstract soul. Here in the depths of himself, far from concerns of the world, Ranma discovered something rather interesting: he was currently infused with more chi then he ever dreamed possible and was still gathering more of it into himself at an increasing rate. This was the cause of his sensory overload, an infusion of pure life essence so great that his entire body sang in an ecstatic state.

Ranma could ignore his senses but his emotions demanded attention that he could not deny, and they all called out for it at once: pain, pleasure, sorrow, joy, anger, fear, triumph, awe, lust, disgust, hatred, and even love. Still the energy kept building, swelling his consciousness to the breaking point. He felt that if he did not rid himself of this energy soon that he would either die or go completely mad.

All at once the sensation stopped and he felt nothing but a great hungering void, growling impatiently in the darkness for a chance at freedom. Before he could guess at it's meaning, however, the tide of energy reversed. In an instant the gathered energy blasted outwards from him in a single line of force centered on his abdomen, dragging with it every emotion again at triple their previous force. His mind buckled completely with this orgasmic flow, leaving only the impression of himself coupled with the anthropomorphic form of the universe, pouring out his essence into the womb of creation in the form of a brilliantly burning new star.

Finally, emotion abated and sensation returned. Ranma crashed back to earth wondering if he had truly left it and lay still on his back on the cold ground, desperately reaching for breath in shallow gasps. For several minutes he lay there in the refreshing stillness with his eyes closed, enjoying the beating of his heart as it began to slow and the feeling of his skin coated with a sheen of warm sweat.

Rubbing a few small pieces of debris from his forehead, Ranma stood and opened his eyes, then promptly lost his breath again. He was standing in a glass-smooth crater several meters deep. A perfect circle of clean, exposed earth about twice his body length surrounded him, and beyond its boarders he was surrounded by pieces of concrete, iron girders, and the charred remains of burnt wood. Unseasonably, a fine layer of frost covered everything, and the air was chill enough that he could see his breath rising in huffs. Above him arched the former roof of Furinkan's gym, broken and fragile, but with the silent air of a forgotten cathedral.

What truly drove the image into his mind, however, was the bloody arm jutting into view from beneath the debris before him, fingers and wrist bent limply. Ranma stumbled forward out of his daze, nearly tripping on a loose stone, as he hurried to the scene. With little effort he tossed aside a chunk of concrete twice his own size, ignoring the exposed rebar as it tore the black fabric of his kendo garb. He followed the arm as more of it became exposed by his actions, noting from its slenderness that it was female and that it was surely broken. Clearing away more debris revealed the unfamiliar face of a young girl, clad in a black leotard... one of Kodachi's squad.

Thankfully she was alive, her breathing slow but regular. With nervous care Ranma brushed aside one of her dirty bangs and lightly traced her cheek, but his hand stopped its path abruptly. Something was wrong, in a way that wasn't visible. Clearing away more debris reveled scratches and bruises, but Ranma was not concerned by this. More concerning was the fact that her chi was very slight, almost non-existent, and that it was not traveling in a familiar pattern.

Ranma looked up from the girl, spying another unconscious form lying nearby...Ukyo. He rushed over to his friend, quickly glossing over her injuries to find her chi in a similar state of disarray, flowing in a different, but just as wrong, pattern. A younger member of the Kendo squad showed the same signs as well, as did every unconscious form he came across.

He made his way out of the crater and the other wreckage, being careful not to carelessly cause any of the unstable debris to shift loose and bury those in the bottom. Emerging from the destruction, Ranma spied a familiar person standing on the outskirts of the damage, Gosunkugi Hikaru.

"Saotome..." the thin boy whispered, backing away fearfully with his arms held before him in a protective gesture.

"This is serious, Hikaru," Ranma stated as he approached quickly. "I want you to go and call for help; ambulances, fire trucks, and everything else."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," The boy replied, backing away, "But what about you?"

"I've got something to take care of, so I'm counting on you," Ranma intoned seriously, putting his hand on Gosunkugi's shoulder and staring him

straight in the eye. "When they wake up, tell the Tendos that I'll be back as soon as I can, and that I'll make this all right again."

"What?" Hikaru asked.

"Just tell them!" Ranma snapped, turning to leave. "I just hope I can get back in time," he said to himself as he bound away at top speed, privately wishing that he was still dreaming.

* * *

"Ranma!" 

With a sudden jerk, as if she were prodded with an electrical cable, Nabiki sat straight up out of sleep, tossing her bedding to the floor. For a tense moment she stared vacantly with terror-widened eyes about the room while her breath came in deep, rapid gulps. Unable to find what it was that scared her so, the last vestiges of her nightmares faded from her waking mind, leaving her to realize that the shout that had awakened her was her own. "Great, getting this worked up over a dream," she berated herself softly as she straightened her satin pajamas. In the back of her mind an image lingered of Ranma, clad all in black, with his head thrown back in a scream, his limbs spread wide and floating weightlessly above the ground. The image stood in silent denial of her rationalized explanation, but excited her, inexplicably.

Nabiki raised her arms above her head slowly, curving her back inwards and letting her head roll about her shoulders as she stretched, yawning loudly as the stiffness of her joints faded. She felt as if she had been in bed for weeks, yet was still somewhat tired. She turned curiously to regard the antique black cat wall clock beside her half-closed window, ticking away in its own slightly unnerving way with vacant, slitted eyes (great fun to draw attention to when negotiating prices with a certain young man) which defiantly proclaimed the time to be 7:44. Cursing under her breath, Nabiki sprang from her bed, removed her sleepwear, and began rummaging through her dresser for appropriate school wear.

"Nabiki, you're awake!" cried Soun joyously as he barged into the room without so much as a knock.

"Hey, I'm naked in here Dad!" she yelled vehemently while trying to cover herself with her hands, "Get the hell out!"

Her father was oblivious to her complaints as he dashed across the room and enveloped her in a tight hug. She froze as his large, strong hands pressed into her shoulder and lower back and lifted her completely off of the floor to press her into his chest and neck. Warm tears rained down her spine in small rivulets and his mustache scratched at her collarbone as he spun her in dizzying circles.

"Father, at least wait until she's dressed to celebrate," Kasumi chided from the doorway in a pastel green housedress and her usual fluffed apron. "It just isn't proper for you to hold her like that."

Nabiki waited with an annoyed glance as he paused and looked down, before closing his eyes tightly, setting her back on her feet, and turning around. "Really, Daddy," she complained while quickly slipping on her undergarments, "and here I thought you were finally starting to get your emotions under control."

"My apologies, daughter," he explained while walking back into the hallway and closing the door. "I heard you cry out and had to come and check on you."

"Come on Dad, I haven't needed reassurance after a nightmare since I was three years old." Grimacing at her 'bed head' hair in the mirror, as she buttoned her school blouse, Nabiki asked through the divider, "Why did you let me sleep in, Sis? I'm really running late here!"

"What?" Kasumi replied, sounding confused. "What could you be late for?"

"Duh, Kasumi... it is a school day isn't it?" Nabiki answered tersely as she pulled on a pair of short white socks with a simple star and crescent moon printed design around the top. "How could you forget?"

"School?" Kasumi began. "Well, it is a Monday, but..."

Monday? She could have sworn it was a Friday...

Nabiki grabbed her hairbrush as she opened the door, but her stride was broken when she found herself walking straight into her father's chest again. He looked down at her once to confirm her state of dress, and immediately resumed hugging her.

"Dad, get over it already! It's almost eight, I've got to get to school," Nabiki complained, struggling ineffectually against the grip he had on her.

"What? Nabiki, why are you wearing that uniform?" Soun asked, setting her back on her feet and taking a second look at her attire. "You'll be going to Kolkhoz High school until the damages have been repaired at Furinkan... don't you remember?"

Something in her stomach turned cold and all Nabiki could think to reply with was a soft, "What?"

"I suppose she was a bit out of sorts when we brought them all home, Father, and she has been asleep almost constantly ever since," Kasumi remarked. "There was some sort of accident at the school, Nabiki, though the authorities haven't told us exactly what happened. There was quite a lot of damage done to the building, though luckily no one was killed. You're lucky to have only received a few bruises."

"Bruises?" Nabiki glanced down at her arms, noticing for the first time several yellowish splotches on her skin, fading traces of unremembered injury. "It wasn't a dream..." she whispered, numbly.

"No, I'm afraid it wasn't," Kasumi answered.

"What about everyone who was down on the floor fighting?" Nabiki asked without looking up, still tracing a finger around one of the larger outlines.

"Oh, my poor baby!" Soun wailed following her question.

"Akane has a broken collarbone," Kasumi translating for her now blubbering father. "She woke up yesterday. Master Happosai hasn't woken up at all yet, so they're watching him at the hospital. Oh, and that nice Ryoga boy is here too, though I haven't seen him lately, recovering from a concussion. His family couldn't be tracked down so we took him in again."

"And Ranma?" Nabiki asked, trying not to remember her last vision of him, suspended directly above a crater.

"Ranma?" Kasumi asked, her smile fading slightly. "Why would Ranma have been at Furinkan?" She looked away for a moment before commenting, apparently to herself, "Though this mysterious explosion makes more sense if he was there."

"Wait a minute... How can you tell me Ranma might still be buried under tons of wreckage and not even seem to care?" Nabiki demanded. "I know you've been mad at him for something, but this really isn't like you, Sis."

"I'm sure if he were still there the city engineers would have found him by now," Kasumi replied, ignoring the second sentence completely. "Besides, he isn't our problem anymore now that he's living elsewhere."

"Assuming he is still alive!" Nabiki countered bitterly.

"Kasumi, are you finished cleaning up from breakfast already?" Soun interjected, suddenly regaining his wits. "If so, you should be in your room; you are still grounded, remember."

"...Yes Father," Kasumi replied with a sigh and meekly walked down the hall to her door.

"Kasumi... grounded?" Nabiki wondered aloud, but quickly put the mystery out of mind, for the moment. "Well, we have to call someone immediately."

"Call who about what?" Soun puzzled, wiping at his eyes.

"Haven't you been paying attention, Dad?" Nabiki answered, clenching her hands in frustration. "We have to find Ranma!"

Her father looked at her with one eyebrow raised and his head tilted slightly to the side for a moment, searching her face before reaching up to hold her shoulders. "Nabiki, calm yourself. You aught know by now that Ranma should be able to handle this better than practically anyone alive. Besides, if he was at the school they would have found him by now. It's been several days, after all."

"You're probably right," She admitted, looking away from his eyes to hide the slight embarrassment she felt. "But he's still human, you know; he's not invincible. Besides, if he were okay wouldn't he have been back by now?"

"I assumed he was with his mother," Soun replied, stroking his mustache. "I think he may have mentioned something about helping her move back into the house when he came by Friday afternoon. Yes, I'm sure of it, it was right before Kasumi began arguing with him."

"Well then we should call and make sure," Nabiki stated, "and if he's not there, we start looking."

"I suppose that would be acceptable," Soun conceded, "Just to be sure. I'm sure it's an unnecessary concern though."

Nabiki walked down the stairs to the family room with purpose, passing the makeshift bedding on the couch and Ryoga's backpack as she continued on to the phone to dial the number quickly from memory. Instead of a ring, a tone and a synthesized voice announced, "The number you have dialed is no longer in service. If you have reached this message in error, please..."

She hung up the phone and turned to her father questioningly. "That's Mrs. Saotome's number, right? 96-8386-2277?"

"I believe so..." He replied.

Dialing the number carefully, Nabiki held her breath and waited, hoping her previous attempt had been in error.

"The number you have dialed..."

* * *

"Ham and soba for table six!" Ukyo called out, trying to get her waitress' attention above the din of the restaurant. With classes cancelled 

at Furinkan and the transfers not beginning until next week at the earliest, business seemed to be absolutely booming. An entire school full of teenagers with nowhere to go for lunch was just fine by her though, especially as she had a debt to pay off.

"Miss Ukyo, table nine would like another two shrimp, soy, and pepper okonomiyakis with extra sauce," Konatsu quickly stated as he took the recently finished item, disappearing without a trace or sound.

"Konatsu could you... damn it." There were times when the cross-dressing ninja's stealthy ways truly annoyed her. Sure, it's kind of an interesting draw to the restaurant when your server delivers your order without any warning and not disturbing your conversation at all, but she would like to actually know where her employee was from time to time. She could definitely use a break about now, especially with her cracked ribs beginning to get rather sore with all the movement required to meet demand.

"Suck it up, girl; the restaurant business isn't for the weak!" her father always used to say. She found her focus, took a single deep, painful breath, and began to pour batter on the grill for two more. Began, not completed, because in mid-pour she was tackled from the side by a trash can.

"Tsubasa," she sneered through clenched teeth, "If you don't get off of me right this second I'll have your head mounted on a spike above my dumpster out back."

With terror-filled eyes (the only feature of her most annoying suitor visible at the moment), the trash can rolled off of her and began groveling. "Please Ukyo, you have to hide me! It was so horrible; flowers and winged horses and small animals and random nick-knacks and super-deformed plushy dolls and all of it, every last thing, hot pink!"

"Sounds like your kind of place, Tsubasa," Ukyo replied.

"No, you don't understand!" the trash can explained. "It wasn't just your standard cute; it was cute to the Nth degree, cute above and beyond the call of duty, obstinately cute, wall-to-wall horrifyingly cute..."

The chef slapped the can hard, causing a reverberating noise not unlike the striking of a large gong.

"Thanks, Ukyo, I needed that," the even more thoroughly dented waste receptacle admitted. "But can't you see what she's done to me, the mental

torture I've suffered! Please, you have to hide me from the mistress!"

"Tsubasa, there's no way I'm going to..." Ukyo started to say, but then felt another sharp, stabbing pain. Her statement quickly changed to "Can you cook?"

"Yes, of course! I'm nowhere near as good as you of course, but I'm a fair chef in a pinch." The trash can, dented though it was, replied happily.

"Okay, here's the deal: you get rid of the trash can, head upstairs for a very quick shower, and then come back down here dressed as me." Ukyo stated in a no-nonsense attitude. "If you agree to work the rest of the night in my place without pay I won't kick you out... and no more ranting, either."

"Thank you, Ukyo!" Tsubasa exclaimed, leaping entirely out of the can to reveal a very frilly, very lacy, and very pink tuxedo. The pink blur disappeared from the grill area in record time, leaving behind a light trail of glitter on the floor.

With a grunt she pulled herself back to her feet and went back to work, the promise of a break coming soon giving her the strength to press on just a bit longer.

Work progressed at a constant but quick pace for several minutes until, at last, an almost exact duplicate of herself, missing a cute bow but sporting an odd pink chain necklace secured with a padlock, came out to relieve the overworked chef. As soon as possible Ukyo removed herself from the front room, nearly collapsing as the shutters closed behind her. She leaned heavily against the door frame with her eyes closed, too tired for the moment to climb the stairs toward a much-deserved hot bath.

A head poked into the room at knee level with panicked eyes. "Ukyo, she's here! I'm sorry but I can't stay out here like this!"

The chef offered a half-lidded stare of death, but the begging figure did not waver. "Tsubasa, you have NO idea how much you owe me for this," she stated coldly with closed lids, but did indeed rise to the occasion once again. Half-stumbling back into the grill area, she found that indeed the golden pair had returned.

Or had they? While the shorter figure in an off-white and rose multi-layered dress did indeed appear to be the brown-haired terror Azusa, her

partner appeared to have been replaced with a tall, short-haired, blonde, small-chested and all-around rather butch looking girl in tan slacks, a royal blue men's button-down shirt, and small clip-on pearl earrings.

"Are you entirely sure this is where you lost your pet, Azusa?" The taller girl asked. "I don't remember you bringing any animals with you the last time we were here."

"Yes, Azusa is sure. I didn't bring my pet here, I found it here." She replied with a giggle while staring intently at a small hand-held device.

"Is there something I can get for you?" Konatsu asked, appearing suddenly in front of them in a red flower-patterned kimono.

The tall blonde embraced the ninja suddenly with a beaming smile. "I had hoped to find you here again! I left a bit too quickly to get your name last time."

All noise in the restaurant ceased immediately, save for one smaller teenage boy with large, thick glasses who squeaked out "Oh yeah, lezbo action!"

The kimono-clad waitress seemed a bit shocked and uncomfortable with the situation. "I believe you've made a mistake; my name is Konatsu. Perhaps you're thinking of someone else?"

"Don't you recognize me?" the taller girl asked, hurt. She cupped the waitress' face with both hands gently and looked her straight in the eye. "It's me, Mikado. Well, I suppose I do look a bit different than before."

Konatsu stumbled backward quickly, shock evident on his face. "But you were a man! Don't tell me you went to China in the last few days..."

"What? No, I assure you I haven't done anything permanent to myself, yet." Mikado's hands dropped to her waist limply. "Aren't you happy to see me, Konatsu?"

"Well, I suppose I'm happy in a sort of abstract sense, but this," He gestured up and down with one hand, demurely, "I don't know what to say about this. How?"

"I purchased a quantity of one-shot packets of magical powder from an extremely old Chinese woman." Mikado explained, stepping forward to lessen the gap. "I'm sorry I took so long to come back, but I've been slowly getting used to the change, trying it out. This is only my second time out in public as a woman."

"Well, I guess I'm flattered in a way, but this is not at all what I expected from you," the ninja admitted.

"I thought you would be pleased," the blonde stated softly. "I wanted to show you I was willing to adapt to make this relationship work."

"What relationship?" Konatsu asked, somewhat bluntly. "You kissed me once. It was a nice kiss, certainly, but one kiss does not make a relationship. Going to such lengths without even asking me what I wanted... well, it's just a little presumptuous, don't you think?"

The tall blonde wiped aside a single tear. "I'm sorry, but I just haven't ever done any of the usual dating sort of things before. I really don't have any idea what it is I'm supposed to do for you."

"Well, for starters you should know that I'm only attracted to men. If you really want to see me again with any hope of a relationship, please come to see me as yourself... unless of course you feel more comfortable in this new role. Far be it from me to judge."

"But, well, the natural way of things..." Mikado began to babble.

"Mikado, When I was younger I was rather confused. My stepmother and sisters forced me to work in their tea house and to dress and act as a girl. Miss Ukyo has since freed me from such demands, but what you must understand is this: though I still prefer to act as a girl, I know exactly who and what I am, and that's a gay man." Konatsu admitted proudly. "I confess that I might be interested in experimenting a bit with your magical powder, but in the long term I doubt very much that I will actually change myself for you or anyone else."

Mikado stood silently for a moment, looking down at the floor. At length, she replied, "If it's all right with you, I'd like to see you tomorrow night... as a man."

"I'll still need your help tomorrow, Konatsu," Ukyo reminded them, although somewhat reluctantly. It's a hard line to keep between friend and boss sometimes.

Azusa looked between the two and nodded, resolutely. "Good! You look cuter as man again anyway, Mikado."

"I have to work, of course. If you're sure, I wouldn't mind spending some time with you after work tomorrow," Konatsu replied, seriously. "Bring along one of those packets, but I won't promise you anything."

"Aha, I've got a signal on the tracking collar! My Rupaul is right behind the grill!" Azusa squealed, dashing across the room.

A second Ukyo sprang up from the floor beside the real one, screamed with undisguised terror, and ran with the speed of a man possessed from the giggling girl, crossing the room by leaping from tabletop to tabletop on his way to the exit.

"Azusa, stop!" Mikado shouted, the newly part-time girl chasing the smaller girl, who was in turn chasing the non-girl, out the door. "How many times have I told you that you can't just kidnap people!"

With the entertainment apparently now over, the patrons went back to their meals as if nothing had happened, some even complaining about the lack of originality the scene had expressed. Gender confusion, one discontent thought, though still amusing, was getting to be rather cliché in Nerima.

* * *

The forest sang with the sounds of crickets and a gentle wind blowing through the ancient branches overhead. A few scant rays of golden-orange light still shown through the canopy off to the west, but soon, too soon, the light would fade into total darkness. It was fairly warm now, but the spring night would turn cold soon enough. Ignoring groaning muscles, exhausted from the activities of the day, the young camouflage-clad man added a few large logs to his campfire. 

The man's dinner, a huge chunk of albino koala meat, was nearly finished, and the combined smell of cooking meat and wood smoke was almost unbearably appetizing. As he reached to turn it above the fire he suddenly froze in place; a twig snapped somewhere behind him and to the right. Was it some interloper come to steal his meal? Or worse, one of the predatory denizens of these woods come to make a meal of him? In his currently exhausted state he was not quite sure he could deal with either. Silently promising to go a little easier on the physical side to his training the next day, he turned to face the threat.

He was mentally prepared to find a pack of armed bandits or perhaps a ten-meter tall Tasmanian wolf, but the sight of a disheveled, petite redheaded girl walking tiredly toward him in black clothing was quite an unexpected occurrence. When he realized that he knew this approaching figure, however, he briefly considered that he might have preferred to face both of his previous thoughts at once.

"Hey, um, mind if I share your fire?" She asked.

"Yes, Saotome, I do mind," He replied, gruffly.

"Who... oh, Kumon Ryu. I almost didn't recognize ya in this light without the headband," Ranma replied.

"I lost it somewhere a few weeks ago." The young man brushed back his greasy, tangled hair with one hand as he went back to turning over his meal. After a moment of strained silence, he heaved a sigh. "Are you going to lurk behind me all night or sit down?"

"Heh, thanks." Ranma grabbed a larger piece of wood from the fuel pile and took a seat on the other side of the blaze. "I wasn't sure if I was gonna have to make my own or not."

Taking the meat off of the fire he stated, "Yeah, well don't be thinking I'm going to be too generous. If you want dinner you'll have to catch it yourself."

Ranma began going through a few stretching motions for her legs, arching her back 'just so' as she reached toward her bare feet, displaying a modest amount of cleavage between the folds of her black tunic. Looking up from her exercises but maintaining the pose, she asked with a slightly pouty tone, "Is that any way to treat a lady, especially one who's been on the road for four days?"

He couldn't hold back the chuckle. "Humph, you must be pretty damned hungry to try and seduce me Saotome." Ryu ripped off a chunk of the large meaty feast and tossed it to her. "But you sure as hell aren't a lady. You can catch breakfast, by the way."

"Works every time," Ranma replied, then bit into the offered food ravenously.

The two ate in silence, enjoying the rather gamy meat as if it were top sirloin and soaking up the welcoming heat of the flame. Eventually Ranma finished her smaller portion, and asked, "Hey, you got something I can heat up some water in? I'm getting a bit tired of being stuck in this girl body, ya know?"

Ryu tossed a small skillet and his canteen from his pack to Ranma with a rather dismissive gesture. "Anything else you want from me, princess?" he sneered. "I'd advise packing up some basic gear before you run off into the wilderness again."

"I wasn't exactly planning this little trip." Ranma replied, grumbling. "What are you doing here anyway? Trying to impersonate your way into a nest of flying squirrels?"

"Humph. Did you face up to your mom yet," He asked, ignoring the question posed to him, "or are you still posing as somebody else too?"

"Yeah, I did, I'm living with her now... and point taken." Ranma said, finishing with only mutters. She placed the skillet on the fire and began filling it with water.

"Good, she was a real nice lady." He stirred the flame a bit with a stick. "If you must know, I'm working on developing a new art of my own to replace the one you had me seal away. I need to rebuild my family dojo with something, after all."

"Any progress?" Ranma asked with interest.

"Some. It's mostly just a mix of common hard style techniques, with a few added tweaks of my own, of course." He looked down into the fire for a moment, his eyes searching for something. With a sigh, he added, "I haven't been able to come up with anything to match the Kijin Raishü Dan, though. That was the only chi projection technique I knew, and it will take some time and a lot of study before I can make something new."

Ranma replied with enthusiasm, "You could always just tweak it a little and call it something different. Maybe throw single waves with each punch to add a cutting action, or toss two at the same time on intercepting paths to catch opponents from both sides... stuff like that."

Ryu stared hard at her in reply. "I swore I wouldn't use the technique any more and I don't plan to, even in a modified form. As long as you keep up your end of the bargain, I won't back down either. I may have lied in the past but when I swear an oath it means something."

"Uh, yeah..." Ranma said, fidgeting, "I can see how that might be kinda questionable, I guess." He only grunted in assent.

"Well, maybe I could help ya with it. I could use a decent sparring partner, and I just happen to be trying to master a new technique myself," Ranma suggested, but then looked away, her spirits deflated. "Heck, I almost forgot for a moment why I'm here."

"And that would be..." Ryu prompted.

Ranma hesitated. "Well, that move I'm working on... I sorta, well, lost control of it a few days ago. I'm here to claim a magical cure to put things right."

"What, like some sort of senzu bean?" Ryu asked, smirking. "Whoever told you that such crap exists obviously was yanking your chain."

"This isn't some sort of monkey-boy joke; it's a matter of life and death!" Ranma yelled, leaping to her feet. The night around her seemed to grow quite a bit darker suddenly.

Ryu held his hands out defensively. "Hey, hold it man! I guess if this forest can have giant weird animals in it then anything's possible."

"Yeah, well I hope so," Ranma stated soberly, setting back down again and relaxing her muscles. "I know it's out there, but I'm not entirely sure there's enough of it to go around, or if I'll even get back soon enough for it to matter."

"Damn, sounds like you screwed up something fierce, Saotome," he commented with a slight huff.

"Does possibly killing a gym full of other students qualify?" Ranma asked bitterly. "Never mind that I'm actually engaged to four of the people involved, almost family with a few more, and friends with several others..."

Now it was Ryu's turn to hesitate. He replied carefully, boggled by the scale of the damage and the four engagements part of the statement, "Um... yeah, I guess that would just about cover it."

"I wasn't exactly on the best of terms with them all at the time, either. I said a few things I didn't really mean, especially to one of my fiancées. Well, I don't think I meant them, anyway, did I?" Ranma admitted, apparently talking to herself now.

A hint of steam caught Ryu's attention. "Hey princess, whenever you're through daydreaming about your true loves, your water's ready."

"Stop calling me that already!" Ranma snapped, then took the water off the skillet, mixed it with a bit of cold water to cool it, and dumped it over her head.

Ranma was not expecting the sudden sensation of pain to pass through his entire body in a wave as the change took place, however. He grit his teeth as the sensation swept quickly from head to toe, feeling for a moment like every muscle in his body was stretched a bit too far, one at a time and in rapid succession.

"Damn, that curse must really suck." Ryu asked, tossing Ranma a small washcloth. "Does it hurt much?"

Ranma stood up and walked a bit to work the sudden soreness out as he wiped the water off of his face and shoulders, puzzled to find his balance a bit off. "It usually doesn't."

**

* * *

**

A strong smell pervaded the small room; the combined scents of old age and burning incense, clinging to every surface and pervading the enclosed space. It was dark save for two candles which cast their flickering brilliance into the shadows, reflected imperfectly in the rippling surface of water in an intricately carved bowl of fired clay. The muted sounds of the restaurant below were the only intrusion of the outside world upon the scene.

The woman before her, once a symbol of wisdom defying age, now looked very old indeed. Her skin seemed pale and brittle, her long hair flat and glossless, and she seemed even smaller than usual. She hadn't moved in days except to breathe, and even that was a miniscule and uneasy movement at best. Her unconscious form lay dormant, completely dependent on the care of others; a seeming contradiction to the woman's philosophy of personal strength and responsibility.

With quiet reverence Shampoo finished washing her great-grandmother, dropping the sponge into a large earthen bowl. After removing the necessary rubber gloves and tucking the small, helpless-looking old woman back into bed, she bent forward and gently kissed the comatose elder's forehead, offering a silent prayer for her return to health.

"You are not welcome here, and Shampoo wants nothing to do with you!"

With an annoyed sigh, Shampoo rose from her seat and left the room, closing the door silently, as if she thought she might accidentally disturb the slumber of its occupant, and straightened her lilac cheongsam as she descended the stairs. After depositing the washing bowl in the sink she made her way out to the dining area to find out what Mousse's newest reason for not working was.

"I came to this establishment to inquire on the well being of my love, not to trade either words or blows with an ignorant commoner such as yourself. If you refuse to stand aside, however, I would be more than willing to dispatch you, cur," Tatewaki finished intoning as she came through the doorway, his hand resting confidently on the handle of his weapon where it was held securely against his light blue, geometrically patterned dogi.

Mousse pushed his glasses up his nose with only his middle finger, being careful not to touch his bandaged cheek, and snarled in reply, "Dispatch me? Just try it, you..."

"Mu Tsu!" Shampoo barked in her native dialect, cutting him off abruptly, "We still have customers, idiot! You should be serving them, not poking your nose into issues that do not concern you and causing a disturbance!"

"But he started it, Xian Pu..." he whined, turning to offer her a pleading look.

"You go and start on the dishes. I'll handle the remaining customers until they finish eating, and then lock up." She commanded, keeping her glaring eyes on him until he trudged off with his head held low.

"Truly it is a sad fate that forces you to associate with the likes of him, my flower," Kuno declared, switching the conversation back to Japanese as he moved to embrace her. "Allow me to lighten the burden you erk..."

"Shampoo busy at moment, airen," Shampoo explained in a tired voice as she removed the serving tray from his face. "We talk later time?"

Regaining his composure despite the ramen noodles in his hair, the kendoist looked around before replying "Ah, you have my apologies for

disturbing you. I had hoped to catch you less engaged. I merely wished to insure in person that you were suffering no further ill effects from the accident, as my calls have been unanswered."

"Still have bruises and leg stiff, but fine. Amazon warrior not complain for such, but Shampoo appreciate airen ask," she admitted as she cleaned an unused table. "Is elder that Shampoo worry for. She no wake up since fight, look much older now. Caring for Great-Grandmother take time. Shampoo also must work hard to keep business open with only stupid Mousse to help."

"Why do you toil so? With but a word I would be happy to pay for the elder's treatment and see to it that you need not work for your sustenance," Tatewaki asked, genuinely confused. "Why have you not contacted me sooner?"

Shampoo bristled slightly at the question, but restrained her displeasure as she answered, "Amazons no need charity. Are strong and alone-standing."

"I suppose I can understand your warrior's pride, but at least you must admit that your Great-Grandmother would be better off under the care of a professional healer, trained in the most modern techniques," Kuno reasoned, surprised by her response.

Shampoo shook her head. "Elder no trust doctors, thinks they too arrogant and not be knowing anything of spirit, only body. Amazons use old ways to treat sickness and pains, ways that heal spirit too. This most important with Elder's condition; body fine, but spirit hurt much."

"Very well, but at the least you must allow me to aid you in these mundane tasks," Tatewaki stated magnanimously as he took the serving tray covered in used dishes from her hands and made his way towards the kitchen.

Shampoo prepared to complain but was called over to the corner booth by a customer seeking a refill for his green tea. Annoyed by his attitude and yet somehow pleased, she watched him walk off with the tray as she refilled the cup, letting her thoughts stray.

"Well, this new airen of mine is almost as persistently annoying as Mu Tsu and possibly more arrogant than Ranma, but keeps himself in the middle ground between denying his feelings and acting on them inappropriately," she noted, neutrally. "...And not entirely hard to look at. Perhaps if things don't work out..."

A crash from the kitchen cut off that thought before it could fully manifest, reversing the slight smile that had begun to come over her features. Excusing herself from the customer, she charged into the kitchen, freezing as a salvo of cooking knives stuck into the door inches from her face.

Kuno dodged the projectiles, deflecting one with his bokken, but a blindingly quick sidekick from his opponent caught him off guard and sent him sprawling into the sink. Kicking out of the sink brought him back to his feet, but also managed to send a splash of water at Mousse, ending the fight rather abruptly and inconclusively.

"Cowardly dog, face me!" Kuno cried, looking around wildly. He stopped his searching suddenly and looked down to find a duck pecking somewhat painfully at his ankle, having emerged from the empty grey silk robes of his foe and wearing both the glasses and bandage he had worn. "Umm... is this animal yours?"

"Mousse! What Shampoo tell you about attacking airens!" The Chinese girl demanded angrily as she kicked the surprised duck across the room into an open cage with blackened iron bars. "Idiot not bother you again or else Mousse get served to customer."

Kuno leaned heavily against the counter and looked with obvious curiosity and confusion at the caged duck, which seemed to be protesting his fate quite energetically. After a moment of silence, he asked her, hesitantly, "Why did you call this irate waterfowl by the same moniker as the ignorant servant boy? Is this some sort of humor at his expense?"

"Is his name. What else Shampoo should call him by, besides hard words?" she asked, seriously. Watching his puzzled look shift between her face, the pile of clothing, and the cage, she elaborated "Is curse. You know of curse, yes?"

"A curse?" Tatewaki echoed, turning his slightly at an angle and scratching his chin in thought. "I do seem to recall the treacherous Tendo Nabiki charging me a grievous sum for word of some foolish rumor to that effect. Would you now purport to spread such irrational drivel, my sweet?"

With tired eyes and a heavy sigh, Shampoo began filling a kettle.

**

* * *

**

The rain outside was falling in sheets, providing a shifting, uncertain view of the back yard. The Koi pond was rippling wildly, but the fish were no doubt unconcerned by any impact smaller than a human. The grey haze, damp air, and nearly constant sound were a soothing influence on his troubled mind. It had rained on and off since Monday, the last time he had seen Ranma, and showed no sign of stopping today either.

"Your move, Saotome," his companion cued.

With barely half a glance he placed his black marker stone in the very first spot his hand reached. He could picture Ranma in his mind quite clearly, a small redhead drenched to the bone, carrying a pack nearly as big as her, trudging along the muddy lands of the wilderness with a flame in her eyes that no situation could ever dim. With a sigh full of failure and regret, the heavyset man began to wonder when he became able to picture his son as a girl without hesitation.

"Your mind isn't on the game, old friend."

He turned to regard his friend, his blood brother. How far the once proud young man he had known as Tendo Soun had fallen, replaced by this spineless, tired, and emotionally unstable husk. Still, there were times when an ember from the old fires of his temper would burn in his eyes or a glimpse of his former willfulness would appear that, much to the master's annoyance had so defined him in their younger days... a trait his youngest daughter seemed to share in abundance. Seeing a touch of the old Soun in his eyes now, he felt obligated to respond in more than just a gesture or grunt. "Quite so, Tendo. The rain... it's distracting me, I fear."

"It reminds you of Ranma, I imagine," the taller man guessed. "You're worried for him?"

"How can I not be?" Genma replied, slightly annoyed by the question. "Nearly grown or not, in some ways Ranma will always be my little boy. We didn't part on the best of terms, you know... I'd hate to think that the last time I ever saw my son alive he had only anger in his eyes." His image of Ranma shifted into a male form with hard eyes and prepared to strike him down, then faded away into the mists and rain falling outside. The balding man wiped his eyes (just a few stray raindrops, he told himself) as his friend's hand found his shoulder.

"You've trained a strong, resourceful, and willful young man, Genma," Soun assured him in confident tones. "You've also raised a son who, though he doesn't often show it, obviously cares for you. I'm sure that he's fine and will return to you, to all of us soon."

"Daddy's right, Mr. Saotome," Akane added as she sat down, putting P-chan in her lap. "Ranma is probably off either sulking over his loss to Kuno or trying to master a new technique. He'll turn up before the weekend, I bet."

"Ah, you're probably right, Akane," he replied, beating his chest with a smirk. "Takes after his old man, you know; nothing keeps him down for long."

Soun averted his gaze uncomfortably and coughed, "Uh... yes, so he does."

"Um, anyway Mr. Saotome, I have a favor to ask you," Akane stated, a bit nervously, "Could you teach me some of the Saotome branch of Anything-goes? It might take your mind off of things, you know?"

Soun looked back quickly, his eyes a bit wider than normal. "What was that you said, daughter?"

"I don't mean any offense, Father," she quickly explained. Her face flushed as she looked down at her clenched hands. "I, um, just wanted to broaden my knowledge of the art, maybe make some progress on this 'join the school' idea of yours."

Soun leapt to his feet excitedly and hugged her to his chest, but quickly released her when her grimace of pain (and her pet's sudden need to gnaw his foot) reminded him of her injury. "Akane, you make your father so very proud! I had nearly given up hope that you would ever progress to the next stage of your training!"

"Next stage?" she asked, cradling her left shoulder with a puzzled expression. "But you said you were done training me almost three years ago, Dad. If there are more stages why did you let me just practice the same old forms and do general training for so long?"

"I said I was finished teaching you, not that you were done learning, Akane," Soun corrected. "We practice the Anything-Goes school, and as such it is required of us to study as many different arts as possible to give us the edge in versatility. I've been patiently waiting for you to realize the true nature of the school and begin the steps toward mastery for a while now, Akane."

"Indeed, old friend. Your idea of a dojo-friendly version of the art may just be possible after all." Genma admitted, but continued with a stony face, "But it will not be under my tutelage that it grows."

"But, the schools..." Soun complained.

"Why not? Just because I'm in no shape at the moment to practice forms or spar doesn't mean you can't at least demonstrate for me." Akane scowled as she added, "If this is more of your chauvinistic 'no girls allowed' attitude I'm going to be very upset."

"No, it's nothing like that, Akane; in fact I think you're quite a fine martial artist despite your gender handicap." Akane began to smolder, so

Genma pressed on, "And that's actually the problem. I can't teach you the Saotome branch because you already know too much."

"Huh?" Akane replied.

"Bwee?" P-chan echoed.

"You mean to say that you actually put your old idea into practice in teaching Ranma, Saotome?" Soun asked, stunned.

"Indeed I did, Tendo," Genma stated proudly with a dignified nod. "After the absolute basics I left him to it, and the results speak for themselves."

Akane was still boggled. "I don't understand, Mr. Saotome; are you saying that Ranma was taught by someone else?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes. If I remember correctly, his branch of the school worked by..." Soun began, but was cut off.

"Ahem," Genma interrupted loudly. "As I was explaining about MY school, it can only be taught to someone who has never before been trained in any arts. I presented a series of challenges with ever-increasing difficulty until Ranma figured out a counter move. Often he ended up copying me, or recreating something from other schools, but every once in a while he ended up devising something completely new. Teaching in this way improves the tactical and perceptive talents of the brain, and forces the student to make the art his own. In a way, Ranma was his own sensei and I was just his main rival."

Akane was still fired-up, but no longer angry. "But that's crazy! Ranma had to have had learned from somebody; only a master could invent a unique and useful technique, much less an entire martial art!" P-chan looked a bit doubtful, but she didn't notice.

"Of course, and thanks to my teaching Ranma has been good enough to be called a master in his own right since he was twelve," the elder Saotome stated firmly. "But the fact remains that I can't teach you the Saotome branch without blanking out your memories like that Shampoo girl did, and even then it would take years before you even began to reach your current level."

"Well then who can I get to teach me? I was hoping to at least find someone that can give Ranma a good workout," she answered, grumpily. "Ranma won't help me, no matter how nicely I ask him. All he does is dodge my attacks and make fun of me.

Genma looked away with a 'humph'. "Doesn't this spoiled girl realize that Ranma has been trying to train her, unsuccessfully, since we first arrived?" he wondered silently. "It isn't the boy's fault if she's too coddled by her father's teaching methods to recognize motivational teasing; he is just using the techniques he's been shown. Even after hearing the truth of Soun's plan, it seems that she still wants everything to be handed to her on a silver tray."

"Daughter, if I might make a suggestion?" Soun asked, eying the pet in her lap while awaiting her nod. "Their last confrontation aside, the Hibiki boy has proven to be quite a formidable opponent for Ranma, even beating him once or twice. You could prevail on him for assistance so long as he stays here. Besides, he did help you once before, did he not?"

Akane's eyes brightened and she smiled widely. "Of course, I'll ask Ryoga! He can teach me how to throw those chi attacks and stuff too! C'mon, p-chan, let's go find him!" She jumped up and ran out of the room excitedly.

"Bweeeee!" the pig squealed as she dashed off with it, though no one present could determine whether it was a sound of agreement or panic.

"At least wait until tomorrow to bother the lad, Akane!" her father yelled after her. "It's too late to worry about tonight, and he needs his rest as much as you do!"

"Akane with a chi attack?" Genma wondered aloud. "Tendo, old friend, I think perhaps that you have more to worry about now than I do." To emphasize the point he tapped on a section of the wall that still showed signs of recent repair after one of her Ranma-induced temper tantrums.

The patching board fell loose from the wall and clattered to the floor just as a stray gust of wind blew through the open sliding doors and extinguished a candle resting on Mrs. Tendo's impromptu shrine. With a gulp and a shared glance, the two men decided to call it a night.

**--:--**

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep...

The room was dark and quiet at this early morning hour, save for the soft glow of the machines, the rhythmic beat of the heart monitor, and his slow breathing. How frail and weak he looked, how vulnerable; this is exactly how he should be remembered, and the only kind of fate he truly deserved.

"Where is your great skill now, Happosai?" the nearly silent intruder taunted. "Where is the terror of men and women, the master of the fighting arts, the thief of a thousand relics? All that remains is a pathetic shell living on borrowed time."

He did not move despite the comments, even when the figure grasped his throat roughly at the end of the speech. With inhuman vision the attacker scanned the inert form, and noted the inadequacy of his chi flows to his dying organs. It simply would not due for this irreprehensible scum to leave the world peacefully in his dreamless sleep and unaware of his victor's triumph.

As a slight trickle of energy was forced into his body, the old man's eyes opened widely and he gasped for breath. "What the... No..."

"Oh yes, Happosai," the figure replied, cutting off his speech with a vicious squeeze to the throat and smiling cruelly as it whispered, "It seems your time is up. Your feeble ward has been broken, just as you will soon be broken."

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep...

"Not...possible" he croaked as he struggled uselessly against the iron grip with his withered limbs. "How?"

"Your student, your 'pet project', has begun to achieve the destiny you longed to steal," His attacker answered. "How poetic, that your greatest goal should be your undoing, that his growing power is what released me from your ancient snare."

"Not...free...yet..." he spat through blue lips, his eyes boiling with hatred. "Still...human."

"We shall see, Happosai... No, not we, I." the intruder corrected. "You may have twisted the intent of my geas upon you to live this long, but what, I wonder, would happen if I were to forgive you?"

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep...

Happosai's eyes widened in absolute fearful awe as the figure leaned down, holding his head in place as it gently pressed its thin, delicate lips to his ancient leathery ones.

Happosai's battle aura, weakened as it was, flared with red and golden-yellow light as he flexed every muscle in defiance, but he could not maintain the defense. As the aura began to deteriorate, one wispy smoke-like piece at a time, the ancient master drew it back into himself, infusing his body with its brilliant light. Again, the maneuver failed as the light of his soul was pulled forcefully from him through his pressed lips. His struggles lessened and finally stopped against the slow, lingering inhalation, ending just as the light and his last fleeting breath were stolen.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

The thin hand released his neck and reached out to close the dead man's empty, glassy eyes with care. With silent steps the murderer returned to the hallway before any witnesses could arrive.

**

* * *

**

"So, how do you like it?" Kodachi asked, expectantly. She leaned forward on the table with an almost giddy excitement as her soft, burgundy cotton robe struggled to remain closed.

His eyes widened a bit at the almost indecent display, and his hand came up to pantomime a yawn as cover. In an almost laughably serious voice he commented, "Your cooking is indeed quite, um, ex-quis-ite. This tea is quite good, as well. Where did you say it came from, again?"

"The store, I imagine," she replied, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to act all stuffy around me, darling. I like my men just the way you are... a little rough around the edges. I get more than my fill of pretentious men just from having my brother around."

"Well, if you say so," he trailed off, uncertainly. "There's another thing, though; you haven't even asked me my name. Not that it's that big a deal, but still..."

"Sister!" Conversation stalled as the previously mentioned brother threw open the doors to the living room, yelling frantically. "I have urgent news, troubling information of which you must become aware!"

"Tatewaki, do calm yourself. You might have noticed that I have a guest," she hinted, looking him up and down. "Besides, you look positively dreadful. Did you sleep in your clothes? Did you sleep at all?"

"Nay, my peerless intellect has been far too engaged with pondering the implications of this information to be lulled into Morpheus' false realm," he stated dramatically. "Grave news indeed, sister; I have witnessed evidence that insures the reality of magic in this world!"

"Oh, that's nice," she replied, sipping her tea.

"Peerless intellect?" the man repeated with a skeptical look.

"I do not jest! On previous eve, before my very eyes a man was transfigured into the lowly form of a waterfowl!" he cried, with raised arms

and crazed eyes. "I questioned highly that such an affront to the natural order was possible, but my foreign love explained and demonstrated this feat, and its reverse, several times with the assistance of an unconscious servant boy."

"Feh, so you met duck-boy," the stranger interrupted.

"Duck-boy?" Kodachi asked.

"Works over at the Chinese joint downtown. Half blind, always wears robes..." the guest replied.

With a nod, she answered, "Ah, yes, I believe I have made his acquaintance. A duck, you say?"

"Ahem," the kendoist, intoned loudly. "I wasn't finished yet."

Kodachi stared at him with a baleful, half-lidded gaze, but said nothing.

Tatewaki ignored her look, continuing, "Yes, the lowly miscreant is indeed cursed to occasionally wear the body of a common waterfowl, a form befitting his annoying personality and social standing. Alas, that such ill-fortune were but confined to only his personage! My precious new love, so strong and worthy of respect, is likewise cursed with the body of a small cat, unusual in coloring though it is."

"So the little Amazon has a curse too... big deal," the robed boy commented offhandedly. "You shouldn't hold it against her. A guy like you

should be overjoyed to get a 'little pussy' now and then."

"You would think me so cold-hearted as to blame a sufferer for their affliction?" Kuno demanded, angrily. "No, sir, as soon as I insured that it could be cured with but an application of hot water, though she did protest my impatient testing of the condition due to her lack of clothing, I had already turned my mind to consoling her. It is not the particulars that trouble me, but rather the spreading of the condition: Just this morn, on my journey back to this domicile, did I witness quite by accident a grown man of native dissent transfigured into a panda! What if such a terrifying ailment is contagious?"

Her guest laughed now, a deep, scornful sound. "Contagious? Feh, hardly. Fem-boy and his dad picked up the curse the same place the Amazons did; Jusenkyo, a set of magical springs deep in the mountains of China, near my home."

Tatewaki stood back from the table and stared at the man before him, pausing a moment before declaring, "Your knowledge in this affair is suspicious, sir!" With sudden speed the kendo master thrust his hand into his wrinkled dogi, and then revealed a small plastic squirt gun. "Your deceptions end now!"

"Brother, wait!" she cried to no avail as the water traveled unabated to its target.

Immediately the matching burgundy robe the guest wore was destroyed, stretched beyond its limits in all directions at once as the somewhat tall but slender figure blossomed into a monstrous, hulking frame that had to duck to avoid damaging the ceiling. The beast glared at him, bringing its menacing pincers toward him as it advanced.

"Stop it, both of you!" Kodachi demanded, quickly stepping between the two. "Honestly brother, have you no manners at all?"

Tatewaki paused, glancing from the writing tentacles of the beast before him to his sister, whom he now realized to be nude beneath her robe, revealed due to an accident of her sudden movement. He blinked twice, searched her face with a puzzled expression, and asked, hesitantly, "Sister, tell me you didn't..."

With an exasperated growl she tossed the remainder of her tea on the beast, returning it to the shape of a naked man. "Your clothes should be dry by now, dear. If you don't mind, I need a moment to talk with my rude sibling."

"Uh, sure, no problem..." Taro replied, scuttling off with sideways steps as he tried to cover his nakedness.

"Sister, you debased yourself with that...thing!" Tatewaki demanded, pointing an angry finger toward the now closed door to the hallway.

She scowled and crossed her arms, but did not bother to retie her belt. "The details of my private life are not your concern, brother, though if you really wish to discuss the matter I will be forced to mention the time I caught you in the furo with the inflatable doll and your little dog, Armadillo..."

"No!" he shouted frantically, waving his arms and looking around for other witnesses. "We agreed never to speak of it again!"

She said nothing, but raised one eyebrow.

With a defeated sigh, he nodded. "You... are correct sister. It is not my place to judge you."

"Especially considering your new love is afflicted in like manner," she commented.

"But I never intended to..." Tatewaki repressed a shudder. "Never mind that. I am confused though, Sister. Did you not intend to save yourself, against all reason, for the villainous Saotome?"

"Really Brother, how often does a girl come across a tentacle beast hung like a bull?" she remarked sarcastically, then sighed happily. "And I haven't even had to drug this one yet."

"Um, I was wondering about that, actually." Taro asked, returning to the room dressed in his familiar gold and green-scaled vestments. "Why do you have so many pictures of fem-boy, anyway? You aren't part of his harem, are you?"

The elder Kuno nodded. "Yes, stranger, it is so. For reasons only she knows, my sister is indeed convinced that Saotome is a worthy mate, and pursues him with all deviousness. I have given her my permission to date him as an attempt to remove him from my own goals, but she now insists that they be married."

"You want to get married to that jerk?" Taro asked, surprised. "I didn't know your tastes ran that way too, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Kodachi shut her robe and turned to face him, offended by his comment. "Why wouldn't I? He is a paragon of manliness; strong, brave, handsome..."

"...and cursed." Taro countered. "One splash and your 'paragon of manliness' is a slutty little redhead with a pigtail, about as far from manly as possible even with surgery."

"The pigtailed girl?" Tatewaki whispered.

"That harridan?" Kodachi sneered. "You wish me to believe that my fiancé is also my most hated foe?"

"Hey, don't take my word for it, lady; if you don't believe me, check for yourself. In the meantime, though it has been fun, I'll be going. Pan..." he caught himself, and coughed before continuing. "AWESOME Taro plays second fiddle to no-one. Once you realize that Fem-boy can't match me we can... talk... again." With a wink, he turned and walked out.

"Brother?" Kodachi turned to find him on his way as well. "Should we not attempt to disprove this lie?" she asked, hopefully.

"I... it's too much to consider for now, Kodachi. I intend to sleep on the matter, for I have another engagement this afternoon, and other questions that must be answered." He replied, tiredly. "When next we see Ranma or the

pigtailed girl, we shall put this Awesome Taro's words to the test. Until then, do nothing rash and listen not to the rumors of other fools."

As he left, Kodachi sank to her knees. Comments overheard, denials voiced, and coincidences unexplained flooded her mind with overwhelming force. Through it all, vivid as if it were happening now, was the memory of a kettle, and steam, and the brief glimpse of a male silhouette.

Curling in on herself and hugging her knees to her chest, Kodachi began softly to weep.

**Author's notes:**

Yes, it has been quite a long time since I updated this fic. What can

I say but that some times real life can be a bitch? Many of you may have thought the fic was dead, fallen into forgotten realms like so many other stories. For those few readers that actually sent me private messages to inquire on its status, I thank you for your continued interest.

On a completely unrelated note, I can only hope that nobody is actually enough of a –dumbass- to call Nodoka's phone number...

Yes, there is still humor in the series, despite my little rant at the end of 2-4. It isn't going to abandon you any time soon (this would get WAY too dark if I did that), but you should still keep in mind that what you see as funny, the characters involved almost every time see as a serious and possibly even harmful situation. Keep your guilty pleasures, but never forget that they do come at a price to someone...

Grookill suggested (perhaps as a joke) an omake of the 'Kuno in the furo' scene mentioned by Kodachi, but I'm not touching that one. Any deviant authors out there may elaborate upon that scene (or any others) with my blessing, so long as they give proper credit to me... and send me a copy!

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	7. Shuffling the Deck of Fate: Act 3, pt 2

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
**A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 3: Shuffling the Deck of Fate**  
Part 2

**"Insider" Pre-readers:**  
Freak 247

**"Outsider" Pre-readers:**  
Aondehafka

**Recap of Last Chapter:**  
Ranma experienced yet another dream encounter with the mysterious Norou Mizumei, after which he awoke to find himself lying in a crater amidst his fallen peers and the remains of the Furinkan High gymnasium. Trusting Gosunkugi to get help, he ran off in search of a cure to the potentially fatal condition the other combatants are now in. His search took him back to the enchanted forest of Ryuganzawa where he encountered an old rival, Kumon Ryu, and shared a campfire.

Meanwhile back in Nerima, things were not proceeding as usual. Nabiki woke from a vivid nightmare into a waking one, discovering that three days have passed since Ranma's fight with Kuno and that he had not been seen or hear of since, prompting her to begin a search immediately. Other news from the Tendo household involved Akane gaining a deeper understanding of the true nature of the Anything-Goes School and Happosai meeting his end at the hands of an unidentified assailant.

Ukyo continued to run her restaurant despite injuries while Tsubasa made his escape from Azusa's clutches and the other half of the Golden Pair experimented with alternate lifestyle choices. Both Tatewaki and Kodachi, with help from the Amazons (sans a comatose Cologne) and Taro, respectfully, finally learned of the existence of Jusenkyo curses through very different methods. They reacted quite poorly to the insinuation that Ranma and the Pigtailed Girl are one and the same, however.

**

* * *

**

The late morning air was a bit chilly and damp, but not uncomfortably so. Last night's rain turned the battered yard into a giant mud pit. Seeing several large puddles about the yard had him quite concerned, but at least she wouldn't want to do any sparring with her injuries, and hence he could safely stay on the wooden walkway. There was a larger concern on Ryoga's mind at the moment though, one that did not threaten him so much as it did her.

"Are you really sure you want to learn this stuff Akane?" he asked, seriously. "Chi attacks aren't just another technique to master like a punch or kick, there's a much more personal side to it. Doing one means looking deep into the parts of yourself you wish weren't there and sort of throwing them out into the open. Even after all the emotional stuff you have to remember that throwing blasts too often or too large can leave you really sluggish for a while, more open to attack."

"Yeah, yeah..." Akane replied, waving her good hand dismissively. "Of course I'm sure, Ryoga. This could be just what I need to get an edge on the others and spur myself back into some serious training. I'm not afraid of facing up to anything in my subconscious."

Ryoga sighed and shook his head wearily. "You don't understand, Akane. Using these techniques... it changes you. Ever since I learned the Shi-Shi Hokodan it's been harder and harder to keep my spirits up for any length of time. I was a bit melancholy before, but now there are times when I'm sure that if I didn't have someo... er, -something- I still had to do I might just sink so deep into depression that I'd never crawl out again."

"Ryoga... I never knew," she whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder as he blushed slightly. "Defeating Ranma must really mean quite a bit to you."

"Er, of course," he replied too quickly, "That's what rivals are for."

She smiled. "Still, I don't think it will be that much of a problem for me, Ryoga. I could always try and concentrate on something positive instead, like Ranma does with confidence."

His blush faded into a rather stern frown. "There's nothing positive about Ranma's Moko Takabisha attack either, Akane. If it's based on confidence like he says, then it's more likely that he's only feeding his overconfidence by using it. I'd say that Ranma's ego has grown steadily since he learned that technique. His overconfidence almost got you killed in Jusendo when he insisted on being the one to hold you and then fighting Saffron, and he was acting like a complete ass every time I saw him last week." ...Not to mention what effects the angry red tones in his blasts lately might cause, or whatever emotion is driving that black thing.

That last statement seemed to have given her pause, for Akane stood silently for a moment in thought. At length, and with a bit of trepidation, she inquired, "But does that mean that chi attack necessarily has to be based on something negative? I mean, I though the emotion was only a way to focus the chi, but that it didn't really matter once you threw it."

"Well, that's a tricky one to answer," Ryoga admitted. "I think my perfect Shi-Shi Hokodan acts the way it does because of the depression used to form it, but since I've never seen anyone else use a purely chi-based attack as large based on something else I can't say for sure. I'm pretty sure that the emotion used affects the color of the blast though, since mine are always a shade of blue and Ranma's are usually orange."

"As far as negative emotions being necessary goes," he continued, "I'm not entirely sure either. If the chi is formed by emotion, I think that the emotion used has a lot to do with how that chi reacts with others. If you want to do harm you need an emotion that is harmful; an emotion like friendship or compassion would be better suited to a technique used to heal."

Akane stood up a little straighter, with her lips tightened and her nostrils flared, as she declared, "Well, I suppose I'll just have to learn to control it then. I'll never get any better if I'm too afraid of the consequences to try."

Ryoga matched her determined eyes. "Very well, Akane. I'll show you the steps to my chi attack, but I want you to try and find a different emotion to base your attack on, something better suited to your personality and hopefully less harmful to you than mine is. I also want you to promise me something though, Akane; that you won't use your chi attack unless you have no other option."

"I promise, but only if you do too, Ryoga." Akane replied. "I don't want you to keep hurting yourself either."

He thought for a moment and tried, unsuccessfully, to count the number of times he'd considered suicide since learning the technique. He then tried to count the number of times that using the technique as anything but a final recourse had actually helped him in a fight, and was forced to admit to himself that it was a rather small number.

With a resigned sigh, he nodded. "For both our sakes, I promise. Once you've recovered a bit maybe we can try and figure out a better way to use them, one that doesn't hurt anyone but the target. I could be wrong, but that dragon prince guy used white chi for all his attacks, and it didn't feel like there was an emotion involved in making them. I think that he was pulling in chi from outside of himself to boost his attacks."

"It's agreed then!" Akane stated with a wide smile. "You'll be my sensei, and while we're training we can try and improve upon the technique together. Boy, won't Ranma be surprised when we can do something he can't!"

He was a bit doubtful on that last note, but Ryoga found her almost giddy attitude contagious. "Alright Akane, I'll give you a demonstration, up close and as slow as I can manage. Pay close attention."

"Yes, sensei," she replied eagerly from a few feet to his right side as he took a wide stance with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"First, you have to concentrate on your chosen focus emotion." Images of his last, very humiliating defeat at Ranma's hands in this very yard a few days ago immediately sprang to mind. Through gritted teeth, he continued, "Choose an image or thought and keep replaying it in your head until you almost can't stand it anymore. Once you've got it stuck, let your battle aura form."

Ryoga closed his eyes tightly, fighting to keep the power level contained to a just a small blast as he went through the process slowly and meticulously, the image of Ranma's smirking face just before he released his final attack firmly logged in his brain. His aura burst forth almost uncontrollably in a wave of flame-like tendrils that felt slightly painful on his skin. "Next you have to will it to gather into one spot. I try to imagine it wrapping around itself in thin streamers, like a tightly wound ball of string."

The energy began to coalesce into a brightly glowing spot between his arms and just in front of his chest. His head began to throb with his heartbeat, and cold sweat was dripping off of his brow. As the ball grew his stomach and bowels cramped painfully. "As it finishes solidifying, gather it between your hands and prepare to throw it," he instructed, pulling the ball and both his hands down with a slow motion to rest at the right side of his gut.

The burning sensation was intensifying in his palms, moving beyond a simple stinging into genuine pain. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he felt a sudden sharp pain in his side nearest the ball. He realized that something was definitely wrong with doing this technique slowly, and as a bit of fear grew in his mind the tint of the ball changed from grayish blue to a yellowish green. Still, he was determined to show her the technique in this manner to make it easier for her to copy, even if that meant some discomfort on his part.

"Finally," he stated in shaky tones between uneven breaths, "Release your pain toward your target, and be free of its burden!" Ryoga thrust his hands toward the pile of remaining wreckage of the dojo, but the chi blast did not shoot away as he expected it to. Instead, it exploded between his fingers, throwing him violently backward in an uncontrolled flipping motion. The motion stopped when he crashed into the wall of the house upside down and face first, then crumpled to the ground.

Through the haze of approaching unconsciousness, he heard Akane speaking to him. "Ryoga? Ryoga, answer me!" She shook him by the shoulder, but he could not find the strength of will to open his eyes or reply. It was getting harder to hear her, and his side felt warm and wet.

"Oh my god, someone call a doctor!"

**

* * *

**

It was exactly 12:07. Sato Toji was now seven minutes late.

He lowered his watch quickly and disdainfully, but was forced to squint as glare reflecting off of the device's face cruelly assaulted his sleep-deprived senses. Tatewaki rubbed his pained eyes and leaned back against the front wall of the small downtown restaurant that Toji had chosen as their meeting place.

It was a rather warm day, he noted as he stifled a yawn, and quite pleasantly devoid of rain, though a few large, pillow-like clouds were still drowsily making their aimless way across the otherwise spotless sky. The sidewalk was faintly buzzing with traffic, ranging from passers-by to the occasional customer to the store, though not enough to truly make one feel crowded. The easy flow of friendly conversation from these pedestrians blended together, if one chose to simply close their eyes for a moment and listen passively, into an almost hypnotic easy drone of white noise. A delightful smell of foodstuffs from within the store wafted out to him whenever the door was opened which filled him with a faintly satisfied sensation...

"Um, Kuno-Sempai?"

Tatewaki snapped his eyes open immediately and jerked slightly away from the wall against which he had been reclining. Stretching his shoulders slightly, he glanced at his watch which told him the time was now 12:26. Pushing through the remaining lethargic fog in his mind he stated sarcastically, "So, Mr. Sato, you finally choose to grace me with your presence specifically at this most opportune moment."

"I apologize for my tardiness, Captain," Toji said with a moderate bow. "My new girlfriend, Hitomi, asked me for help with her homework. Her spoken language skills are passable, but I'm afraid she hasn't learned much of the written language yet."

"Cease your prattle of excuses; I care not for the troubles of this half-western girl of yours," the senior kendoist replied coldly. "Pray tell, are you aware of the reason for this meeting?"

"I... no, actually I don't know why you asked me to meet with you today, sir. Any business dealing with the team would most efficiently have been handled before our joint practice next week with the Kolkhoz team, and to be honest we've never had any social dealings outside of kendo." Toji continued as his senior stifled yet another yawn, "If it would be more convenient for you we could arrange to meet again at a later time. Perhaps when you are more fully rested?"

Kuno's eyes narrowed at the slightly shorter boy. "I assure you I am abundantly capable of conducting this gathering now, Mr. Sato. Your newfound doting maiden will simply have to improve her intimacy with the virtue of patience." He pressed on, ignoring the slight stammer of his subordinate, "That which we shall discus today is of both a personal and a sporting nature. As my second, I thought to come to you before discussing the matter in a less discrete theater."

"Ah, so it is a matter you would prefer to keep from becoming public," Toji replied with a nod. "If I may be of assistance, Captain, please do not hesitate to ask. You can trust me to act only in your best interests."

Tatewaki continued, "It is precisely on this topic that my concern is centered, Sato. I am curious on the topic of potential ways in which you may have acted in my 'best interests' previously without consulting me prior to said incident."

"I don't understand your line of questioning, Captain," the smaller young man replied.

The senior explained, "During my recent bout with Saotome I noticed a particular lack of knowledge on his part concerning the rules and regulations of the event. Were you not assigned to insure that he was properly prepared for the match?"

Sato balked slightly at the insinuation. "I tried my best to teach Ranma the regulations but he was too impatient to listen to me! He ignored the majority of what I told him and left before I was finished explaining it all!"

"Hmm..." Kuno considered for a moment, turning aside for a moment, "Yes, that does quite have the ring of Saotome's typical behavior about it."

"Is that all you wished to discuss today?" Sato asked hopefully.

"Still," Tatewaki continued, ignoring the question, "you obviously did not put forth enough effort in impressing upon my foe the importance of the various regulations of the challenge. I am not at all pleased to have won our match in such a... technical... fashion."

"But a win is always better than a loss, right?" the subordinate offered with a slightly nervous air.

"No, Toji, it is not so in every case." Kuno paused for a moment before asking, "Tell me, do you believe I would have come out unfavorably in this confrontation were it not for Saotome's lack of knowledge?"

Sato's jaw line set solidly. "To be quite frank sir, you haven't beaten Ranma in a fight before now. If I were in your position, with such a long history of trouble, I would gladly claim a win in any way that I could."

"Would you?" Tatewaki demanded. "Would you allow yourself the ill-gained satisfaction of a victory not claimed through skill but rather through circumstances? Would not such a victory cheapen in your mind any results of that confrontation even if love, that most precious of all heavenly gifts, were precisely what was at stake?"

Toji remained firm if not outright defiant. "I can't elaborate on that point, Captain. What I can say, however, is that the team as a whole was glad to see you finally defeat him and restore some much needed respect to our ranks."

"Am I to believe that my fellows blame my recent difficulties for our declining status?" Kuno demanded, leaning into the space of his second. "That they saw my personal failures as their captain as a weakness to be removed from their ranks?"

"Yes." Toji admitted ruefully, looking away.

"Enough so that they believed that the highest form of cheating, in the very sport for which they profess admiration through their willing social participation no less, to be their best recourse?"

"What... What do you mean, Captain?" Toji replied, backing slightly away as his superior produced a bokken from the folds of his deeply pleated pants.

"Saotome's protective gear," was Kuno's sole reply.

Sato Toji was quiet for a moment, but finally decided to growl in response, "Yes, damn it, we tampered with his gear. I admit it only because we did so for your sake and for the preservation of what little respect our team still holds despite your constant public losses and ridiculous antics. We decided as a team when you told us about your plan that this would be the final chance you would have to prove yourself worthy of our service."

"Then may I assume that you fancied the notion of ascending to my position if I failed?" Tatewaki asked, raising his bokken to a two handed fighting grip.

Toji eyed the bokken but did not back down. "I'll still have no trouble taking the position from you if you strike me now, Kuno. I have no doubt that the Kolkhoz's athletic department will be far less sympathetic to your behavior than our school's was, on account of your father."

"Give this message to the rest of your team then, Sato Toji," Kuno demanded, raising his bokken high above his head. He then shifted his grip to the ends of the wooden implement, and then brought it down level to Toji's eyes. With a mighty show of strength he bent the weapon until it shattered, spraying splinters across the sidewalk, quickly followed by flinging the broken halves at his former teammates' feet.

"Tell them that they are not worthy of my leadership," Kuno spat angrily. "Tell them that they have disgraced themselves and everything this team ever stood for. Lastly, tell them that I will be making this incident very public indeed." He finished by spitting on the shattered remains and turning away from the presence of his former second.

"Like anyone will ever believe your word against ours, you complete embarrassment," the younger boy sneered derisively as he walked away. "You just try it and see what it gets you!"

Tatewaki declined to reply, steadfastly ignoring the continued existence of this individual until he had left the area. Feeling the presence depart at last he reopened his eyes to look sadly at the ruined splinters of his bokken. With a sigh he turned from the remains and began his journey back to his not-at-all humble abode and some much needed rest.

He hadn't even taken a second step, however, before he was forced to roll to the side in order to dodge a jump kick from above with enough force behind it to pierce the sidewalk.

**

* * *

**

Removing his foot from the rubble of now vacant pavement, he turned to face his target. "It wasn't very wise to disarm yourself, fool," he admonished his target.

The slightly older boy recovered from his rolling dodge into a crouching defensive stance a few meters away, turned at an angle and with his hands held open and unevenly before him. "Forgive my ignorance then; I thought I hadn't scheduled any cowardly attacks this afternoon."

"Neither your broken weapon nor your ignorance will protect you from me, Japanese boy," Mousse smirked as he brought his hands together before his chest, both completely hidden by his flowing grey robe. "You can swear off your attachment to Shampoo now or wait until after I beat it out of you; it makes no difference to me."

Kuno's gaze didn't waver, though his hands shifted to a slightly lower position. "You waste your time, 'fowl' one. I will not be threatened by the likes of you."

"Then be killed by the likes of me!" Mousse howled, leaping high and towards his unarmed opponent. He willed his chi to shift as he reached the apex of his jump, envisioning several lengths of spiked chain in his mind as his flung both his sleeves forward. Rather than the slightly empty feeling he usually expected when using his hidden weapons techniques, however, there was instead a wave of nausea and burning pain in his arms. In a briefly detached moment of thought he realized that it was the same sensation that had thrown off his aim the last time he attacked this boy.

His thoughts snapped quickly back to the present when he realized that the chains had not flown at his target at all, leaving him in the rather awkward position of jumping with open arms at his target. With a twist of his arms and torso at the last moment he managed to alter his jump into a spinning heel kick, but the older boy merely ducked the improvised attack and retaliated with a stiff double palm strike to the back before his feet found purchase.

Now it was his turn to tuck and roll, negating the potentially painful fall. Springing back to his feet he found his opponent still stiffly poised, awaiting his next attack with a silent glare. Already the phantom pain in his arms was fading, but the slight discomfort in his stomach remained. He attempted to strike again, this time picturing several small throwing darts with bright red streamers on their handles as he threw his sleeve-covered arms forward. With an unexpected sharp pain the projectiles emerged from his sleeves as expected, but with only enough force behind them to clatter along the pavement to his opponent's feet.

"This technique seems doomed to failure, miscreant," Kuno intoned as he gazed momentarily at the pathetic attempt at an attack that now lay at his feet. "Perhaps you should try something different?"

"Don't presume to lecture me on tactics, fool!" the Amazon snarled as he charged, closing the distance with a jumping snap kick. His opponent leaned back to avoid the strike and quickly slap-parried the next two follow-up punches. A feint knee strike opened up the older boy's guard enough for a left hook to land a glancing blow, but his next attack, a spinning leg sweep, was countered effectively by simply moving the front leg above the kick and then using it to kick the Amazon in the chest.

Mousse blocked the kick with both arms but it was still hard enough to topple him. He rolled backwards from his opponent and sprang back to his feet with a counterstrike, but found that the older boy had not moved to pursue at all. Instead he resumed his former crouching posture and seemed to be simply waiting.

"Why don't you attack?" the robed boy snarled as he charged in with a straight punch. Kuno stepped inside the arc of the swing, grabbed the attacker's robe with both hands, and pivoted at the waist to toss him several meters. Twisting in the air, however, Mousse managed to get his feet back under him before he landed. Without pausing he rebounded, offering a jumping lunge kick feint that, with a violent twist, became a flying roundhouse.

Caught unprepared, Tatewaki reeled with the blow and staggered back several steps. He quickly took up his defensive posture yet again, but this time his left arm, the closer of the two to his body, was held at a much lower position that no longer effectively blocked his head. "Finish what you started," Kuno commanded with an unblinking stare.

Sensing a weakness in his opponent's guard, Mousse pressed in to throw a quick snap-punch one-two combination. The first strike was predictably blocked but the second snuck past the kendoist's arms to collide with his chin. The older boy rolled with the punch but quickly recovered, capturing this overextended arm at the wrist with his left hand and pulling it farther across his chest to draw his opponent's face stiffly into his right elbow.

Mousse twisted away from the grip on his left hand easily enough, but now found an iron hard grasp on his right wrist. As Kuno swung his now free left hand to strike, Mousse reactedby throwing his leg fully over his opponent's grappling arm as he leaned his torso out of reach of the kendoist's swing, then delivered a snap kick from the knee into his opponent's surprised face. The blow was apparently successful only in angering his target, who promptly grabbed the offending leg, kicked the other hard at the ankle and simultaneously pulled down sharply on the grappled arm to throw the Amazon forcefully to the street, face-first.

Now without his glasses, still slightly dazed from the impact and held by two limbs, Mousse twisted his hips to attempt a scissors kick on his opponent's head. The blow missed when Kuno instead chose to drop to a knee behind him, but at least the maneuver allowed him to free his leg.

As Mousse brought his legs back underneath him to regain some leverage he felt his arm jerked straight up against his ear by the wrist. Suddenly the grip was released in favor of an arm position across his straightened elbow ending with Kuno's wrist firmly pressed against the back of his neck as his adversary's free hand came around from the side to press in a similar fashion against his windpipe.

"Did you perchance believe me defenseless without my chosen tool?" Kuno asked smugly as he increased the pressure of the choke, obviously not caring for an answer. "In the wisdom of samurai long departed it was noted that even the best warrior might once be caught without his blade, and for just such a circumstance it is vital to train in an unarmed style as well as in mastery of the sword."

Mousse flailed now, searching for a way to break the hold. His right arm was held straight up, pinned against both his own head, his opponent's chin, and braced at the elbow. His left arm was free but could only find his opponent's right shoulder and left arm within striking distance, and quickly discovered that a blow to either spot resulted in a jolt to his already straining neck. Pulling on the arm choking from the front was responded to by his opponent shifting his weight forward, alleviating none of the pressure and adding pain to his back. Any attempt to push off with his legs was met by a twisting of the torso that left his feet once again without leverage and caused yet another jolt to his neck.

"Were I in such a position I would resign myself to defeat," Kuno recommended seriously. "There is but one open way to freedom and treading this path can only end in pronounced suffering, I assure you."

The Amazon's mind whirled furiously even as tiny black and purplish spots began to dance across his blurred vision. He was beginning to feel lightheaded and his lungs burned for air. "What can I do?" his mind screamed. "My arms are useless and so are my legs. I can't twist away from it, can't afford to wait it out, and can't get enough leverage to break his grip. All I can really move is my... head..."

Closing his eyes against the now rather large drifting spots, Mousse quickly turned his head to the side and jerked his neck to the right, slipping between the slight gap of his adversary's hands. He immediately took a gasping breath as he continued to pull his body to the right with all the strength he could muster.

Kuno replied to the move, however, by twisting the younger man's right arm behind his back and locking it in a partially bent position with both arms. With just a slight forward shift from the waist Tatewaki forced the Amazon to fall forward onto his other shoulder heavily. Softly grumbling "You were warned," he braced a knee against the amazon's back and wrenched his weight backwards in a sharp jerk, accompanied by two sickeningly rough, grinding pops.

"AAARRRHHHGGHH!" was the only reply that seemed appropriate to Mousse at the moment as his arm erupted in searing pain from both his elbow and shoulder. He rapidly crawled away from his opponent on all three functioning limbs, putting some distance between them before he regained his footing, shakily.

"Do you yield," his opponent asked wearily, "or must I cripple you further?"

His right arm was completely useless now, merely a dead weight at his side that continued to scream in agony. His vision was spotty at best and blurred beyond recognition of anything more than street and sky. His breath was rapid and uneven. His heart was pounding so fiercely that he could barely hear. Despite all this, Mousse found the will to roar, "Never! I'll die before admitting defeat to you!"

He bent low at both the knees and waist as he flung his good arm back, calling forth a plain but sturdy Chinese blade of forged steel. The flesh of his forearm tore as the weapon emerged with a spray of crimson, and despite the blood-slicked condition of the handle he held on to it desperately. With a wordless howl he charged at the nearest blurred form and swung.

Before the swing connected with anything, however, a swift kick to his unguarded throat launched him off of his feet and through the wall of a nearby business, the sword falling free of his grip to skitter across the pavement with a metallic ringing tone.

**

* * *

**

"Um, excuse me, but the doctors want me to ask a few questions about Mr...," the rather plain, brown-haired nurse asked in a soothing, gentle voice, now stopping to check something on the notepad she carried, "Mr. Hibiki, and just what happened to him."

Kasumi looked away from the uniformed woman, turning her head slightly to the side and down at her sister, the only actual witness to his injuries, who sat next to her in the row of rather uncomfortable and thinly cushioned chairs that lined the waiting room walls.

"It was some sort of accident," Akane began to explain, wringing her hands in her lap. "Ryoga was just showing me one of his martial arts maneuvers."

"Did you see where the shot came from?" the nurse asked, adopting a sort of almost-kneeling posture to bring herself down to Akane's eye level.

Kasumi let her gaze wander about the room slightly, taking note of the few changes that had been made since she had last been in this room, waiting, worrying, and hoping for a life to be spared. The formerly pale green walls had been repainted in a light and soothing cream tone, the once glaring florescent lighting gave way to indirect track lighting focused on a tile mosaic image of the hospital as seen from the air, and several small television sets (muted, of course) had been added about the waiting area.

"No, nobody attacked him, it was a training accident," Akane explained, somewhat confused.

The nurse put her hand over Akane's in a soothing manner. "Please, it's very important that you tell us exactly what happened. The doctors are quite confused by his injuries and really need to know just what exactly they are dealing with."

"Ryoga... he was just showing me how to do one of his special techniques, one that projects chi as a method of attack. He looked like he was struggling a bit to keep it under control so I could see it in slow motion. I mean, at the time I didn't think anything of it. Just that it was a part of the move, you know?" Akane shook her head and sniffled slightly before continuing. "When he tried to finish it though, the ball of chi... It just exploded, right there in his hand. It just caught him right in the face..."

The carpet and chairs, however, were just as Kasumi remembered them. The air was just the same as she remembered it also, slightly cooler than comfortable and with the scent of cleaning agents slightly noticeable. The box of toys that Nabiki and Akane had played with while they waited still sat against the far wall, next to the magazine rack. She had no more inclination to sample either now than she did last time.

"Um, let's just say there was a small explosion and leave it at that, eh?" The nurse replied with a slight twitch, erasing something on her notes. "So I guess that would explain the burns and the concussion..."

"Actually, miss, the young man had received the concussion a few days ago," Soun clarified. "He was in the gymnasium of Furinkan High with my daughter."

"Ohh... that is a very important fact to consider," the woman replied, taking quick notes. "So the injury to his side was reopened by the blast? Except for being unable to find the bullet we had assumed it was a gunshot wound... either that or his appendix somehow managed to explode through his side on its own."

Mr. Saotome shifted his bulk in his chair once again, trying in vain to find a comfortable spot before returning his attention to the silent television. Kasumi knew that she should be thinking of Ryoga rather than digging up old memories, but still it bothered her to see this man so completely uninvolved in the events occurring around him. Feeling somewhat guilty, she returned her full attention to her sister.

Akane looked up sharply with wet eyes. "But, he didn't have an injury to his side from the roof collapse, just a concussion."

"Then how did Mr. Hibiki receive the wound to his side? The soft tissue damage goes too deep to be explained away by anything short of a bullet wound or perhaps a car accident, but then the bruising would be far more widespread, and neither explains the second degree burns on his face, his hands, and trailing from his upper chest to his right side," the nurse persisted.

"I... I don't know what happened to his side. I went to check on him after the explosion, but," Akane sniffled again and rubbed her eyes, "where I placed my hand, it... blood, so much blood. I couldn't, I just, I..." Akane jerked her hands out from under the woman's and latched onto her father's shoulder as best she could with her injured shoulder still held immobile, crying openly now.

"Perhaps it would be best if you came back later, Miss," Soun stated, moving to hold Akane in a loose embrace.

"Yes, that would be appropriate," the nurse agreed, standing up. "Our staff is one of the best in Tokyo, miss. I'm fairly sure Mr. Hibiki will pull through."

Akane only continued to sob.

Genma looked at his friend's situation somewhat uncomfortably for a moment before rising as well. "I, um, think I'll check up on the master, as long as we're here and all... make sure he hasn't caused too much trouble." With his usual heavy gait he plodded up to the main desk and began talking with the older woman seated there. After a moment a young man in scrubs and a white overcoat came to the desk and led him down a hallway to the left. Curious, considering that the elevators were on the right side of the lobby...

"I should have stopped him," Akane said in a low voice, still crying lightly. "I just knew something wasn't right with him when I heard how strained his voice was getting, but I didn't say anything. Why didn't I say something?"

Kasumi added her own hand to Akane's back, a comforting gesture that still felt hollow to her somehow. She wanted to offer condolences for this accident, to feel sorry about what had happened, but was simply unable to shake off the lingering disconnected sense of her surroundings and her last memories of mother.

She realized that her emotions had been odd of late, even perhaps erratic, ever since Ranma destroyed the dojo. No, she corrected herself; she had been feeling a vague unease all that day, even before the wedding attempt. From the moment Akane, Ranma, and Mr. Saotome walked in the door some silent warning had been set off, some unperceived shift in the proper harmony in the home. Since their return Akane had been even more moody than normal. Mr. Saotome had been cautious, occasionally glancing at Ranma as if he expected to see something different. Ranma himself...

Kasumi shuddered suddenly, feeling as the room was suddenly much colder if only for a second. Even with him gone she couldn't think of him without getting an intangible sense of impending danger, an overwhelming gut reaction that demanded she get him away from those she loved as soon as possible and by any means necessary. Was this latest accident still more fallout from that sense of danger? Was this the end of it, or merely the beginning of something much larger?

At least now that he wasn't immediately present she could reflect upon her behavior and admit that it was both illogical and even cruel. Still, she felt oddly justified despite a strong inclination that she had done a great wrong to the young man. Her hunches had always been right before, but never had they left her with any lingering doubts, nor had they so completely driven her without offering her time to consider...

Her reverie was cut off as Mr. Saotome returned to the room, walking over to his seat with an oddly stoic set to his jaw. With slow, even movements he sat down and turned to look over at her, at Akane who had stopped crying, and at her father who returned the look with puzzlement. "I have news," he began, hesitantly, "although I'm not sure yet whether it is good or bad."

"What is it, old friend?" her father asked.

"The master has expired," Genma announced without fanfare, "Apparently from a heart attack early this morning. They were trying to call me the whole time we've been here waiting."

Akane began to cry again, stopped short, then apparently decided instead to just look down into her lap quietly.

Soun put a hand on his friend's shoulder but his expression didn't change otherwise.

"God only knows what Nodoka's reaction will be," Genma sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "It was strange though; even considering his state his chi was incredibly faint... I think even the cold metal table had more lingering energy in it."

Kasumi wanted to say something, but her voice caught in her throat. She was unable to truly feel any sorrow for the perverse but otherwise kind old man. Reaching up to hold her small silver cross pendant in her hand tightly, she silently wondered which facet of the experience was actually worse; Happosai's death, or her family's collective inability to grieve for him.

**

* * *

**

"What are you up to, Kuno baby?" Nabiki asked as she approached the restaurant, which, for reasons unknown, seemed to be under the protection of Tatewaki Kuno, moron at large. He stood casually, leaning next to the doors of her destination with his arms crossed.

"Zzzzz," he replied, followed by a snort. One hand came up to scratch at his nose, but quickly returned to its resting place across his chest.

Rationalizing that the idiot's sleeping arrangements weren't her problem, Nabiki simply shrugged and entered the restaurant without disturbing him. She had more important matters to attend to, after all.

"Welcome to Ucchan's!" the ninja waitress nearly squealed as he sprang into her awareness suddenly. "Would you like a seat at the grill today, Miss Tendo?"

If not for living with the Saotomes for the past two years, she might have actually jumped at the surprise. Instead she replied simply, "I have some business to attend to today, but until my appointment arrives I suppose it couldn't hurt." She followed the kimono-clad young man through the half-filled restaurant to a cushioned stool at the countertop island.

"What can I get for ya, sugar?" the owner asked, looking up from the grill with a smile.

"A pork and pineapple, medium size, with tea," she replied, settling herself on the seat. She then held out her hand and, with a smile, stated, "100 yen. It's not anything big, but you will want to know it anyway."

"I'll take it off your bill," Ukyo replied, "so out with it already."

"Did you know that Kuno is sleeping outside next to your door?" Nabiki began genially, retracting her hand. "His presence and reputation might be scaring away potential customers."

The chef growled slightly, "Konatsu, go tell that jackass to either buy something or take a hike."

"Yes, mistress Ukyo," the waitress replied from... somewhere in the room.

"I hate it when he does that," the chef whispered, shaking her head.

Nabiki smirked in reply. "Heh, Ranma does that sort of 'intensive stealth training' nonsense at least once a week at the dojo. It really annoys the heck out of Akane."

The chef's eyes clearly wanted to reply, "So what doesn't?" but what came out of her mouth was instead the more somber question, "Have you had any luck finding Ranchan yet?" She set an inexpensive but attractively decorated tea cup before the older girl.

Nabiki had to look away to hide her expression at the question, and found that examining the cup made a convenient excuse. "No," she almost sighed, "nothing concrete yet, anyway. It's an almost certain bet that he survived the incident, considering the complete lack of fatalities, but I haven't been able to find even a hint of his current whereabouts."

"Mr. Kuno is awake now and is away from the door, mistress," Konatsu announced, appearing just long enough to pick up several completed orders.

"He had better not have decided to run away," Ukyo replied darkly, placing the ordered okonomiyaki before her customer. "I really don't want to have to spend another ten years hunting him down... I honestly don't think I could go through another stretch like that again."

"Relax, Kuonji, he's sure to show up sooner or later," Nabiki reassured between bites, though whether she was reassuring the cook or herself was debatable. "His overdeveloped sense of duty won't let him take the easy way out of here."

"Yeah, you're right... I just get an antsy feeling whenever I don't see him for any length of time. Every time Ranchan leaves town I feel like he's ditching me by the roadside again." Ukyo sniffed lightly, wiping her eyes quickly with her sleeve.

Nabiki felt some measure of pity for the girl standing across from her, but would not allow herself the luxury of expressing her concern. Instead she offered a little bit of hope before going back to eating. "Actually, I've got a meeting with someone soon who claims they have some information on Ranma. I'd rather not see the little twerp at the moment, honestly, but he wouldn't agree to talk about it with any of my proctors."

Ukyo slid a plain white envelope across the counter to her customer as she finished her meal. "My share of the dojo fund," she explained, "and lunch is on the house... provided you share anything you find out today."

The Tendo girl faltered for a moment, her conscience warring with her financial instincts. Noticing the arrival of her appointment, however, gave her a compromise. With a secretive smile she replied, "It's a deal... but put my meal on Hikaru's tab instead, okay? The little bastard owes me big and I aim to drag out his dept for as long as possible this time."

"Hmm, Ranchan mentioned your little mishap the last time we talked," the chef replied with a wink. "Consider it done."

"Ghuud tu saa yuu, Nhabake," Gosunkugi said with a slight bow. "Whur shull wu sat?"

Nabiki glared at the boy with her arms crossed.

"Whudd?" he asked, clueless.

"Take that ridiculous thing off right this instant or I'm leaving," She stated firmly.

"Bhud I naad et tull tha patiun whurs aff," he complained.

Nabiki remained quiet as she rose from her seat. She was fully prepared to walk out, but Ukyo choose to end the nonsense by pulling the bright pink plastic clothespin off of the scrawny boy's nose, not bothering to unclasp it first.

"Owww, damn it!" he screeched, grasping his face. "Why can't people just leave it alone?"

"Oh, quit whining and sit down already," Nabiki drawled, gesturing to the vacant seat next to her.

"Here? Wouldn't you prefer a more private booth?" Hikaru asked, still rubbing his nose as he glared at Ukyo.

"I already agreed to share whatever it is you have to say with Ukyo," she explained, gesturing to the grinning chef. "I could just tell her later, but if you insist on wasting my time like that there will be a deduction to your fee."

"Fine, whatever," he replied, taking a seat at the grill. "Can I get two shrimp specials and a coke?"

"Coming right up!" Ukyo replied and promptly poured two circles of batter on the grill before her.

"So what is it you have to tell me?" Nabiki asked, looking at her watch.

"Before I tell you anything, you have to agree to stop messing with my life," he replied with a guarded expression. "My parents weren't happy at all with that faked letter from the school you sent home... how could you tell them I was failing in writing composition? It's my best subject!"

"Oh, and I should just forget about the hell you put me through with that dragon rose potion of yours?" the Tendo girl demanded.

"Yeah, you should!" he spouted back. "It was an accident! Besides, Ranma already got me back for that mess."

"Exactly my point," Nabiki explained, "that was just Ranma's doing. Regardless of what he did or didn't do, I haven't finished paying you back just yet."

"If you want to know what happened to Ranma after the school got trashed, you have," he replied before digging into his meal with enthusiasm.

"So that's the deal? I stop all my little pranks currently in progress and you tell me what you want to know?" She summarized. "And how do I know that what you have to tell is worth me just letting you off the hook?"

"What choice do you have?" the dark-eyed boy sneered.

Nabiki paused as if considering the matter, but all that passed through her mind was a derisive comment about him not being specific enough in his deals and just what she would replace her current activities with. "Well, for one I could have Ukyo here beat it out of you," she replied offhandedly. The young chef in question didn't seem to be exactly jumping at the prospect, though. "...But I guess it would be easier to just agree."

"Uh, glad to hear it," he gulped, looking pointedly away from Ukyo.

"So spill it already! Where's my Ranchan?" Ukyo demanded.

"Look, let me start at the beginning, okay?" he nearly begged. When both girls said nothing, he continued. "I'd been skipping school for the last few days, trying to earn some quick cash by doing odd jobs for the guys down at the open market. The antidote for that potion is expensive, you know."

"Believe me, I'm aware of that," Nabiki replied dryly.

Hikaru continued, "Well anyway, I was running an errand for Jinsei's fish stand when I saw it; a pillar of multicolored light centered right over Furinkan that went so high I couldn't tell if it was going up or being sent down from space. It was on my way, so I figured I had to drop by and see what the hell was going on."

"By the time I reached the school, though, the light show was over. It was still pretty creepy, though, with the gym collapsing in on itself. Then things got really quiet, and the air seemed to get colder all of a sudden, like a misplaced winter breeze. I was too stunned to do anything for a while, at least until I saw him."

"Ranchan?" Ukyo asked, hopefully. "He wasn't hurt or anything?"

"Nope," the thin boy said, shaking his head. "Ranma was a bit dusty from the debris but otherwise looked like he hadn't been touched. He came climbing up out of the wreckage and immediately hurried over to me, spouting orders for me to call for the ambulances and stuff."

"Why didn't he do it himself, or help anyone else out of the crater?" Nabiki asked, leaning forward with interest.

"I asked just that very question, actually," Hikaru replied. "He actually looked me right in the eye and told me he had more important stuff to do."

"He said what?" Ukyo whispered, looking down at her hands. "Ranchan wouldn't say that. He wouldn't leave any of us like that, not for anything."

"Well apparently he would, because he did," Gosunkugi stated bluntly. "Then he said he wouldn't be back until he was ready to get rid of all his problems. I tried to ask him what he meant by that, but he snapped at me and then ran off, mumbling something I couldn't quite catch."

Nabiki's blood went cold, recalling a rather painful conversation held in the rain not too long ago. "You're positive that's what he said? That exact phrasing?"

Hikaru defended his information, stating, "I may not remember exactly what he said, but that was the gist of it."

"What sort of expression did he have when he said it?" Nabiki pressed.

Gosunkugi thought for a moment, his eyes shifting up and to the left. "Uh, kinda sad I guess, and a little angry. Why?"

Nabiki's only reply was to close her eyes and sigh, "Ranma, you idiot."

"So where is he now?" Ukyo asked, breaking the lull.

The boy shrugged and replied, "No idea."

"What do you mean 'no idea'? Didn't you see him leave?" Nabiki snapped. "Where did he head off to, in what direction?"

"Last I saw him, he was running up the middle of the street towards the north end of town," He answered with a shrug. "I was a little too busy looking for a phone to keep track of him, you know."

"North... great, that sure narrows it down," Nabiki replied sarcastically. She rose from her seat and turned towards the door. "If you'll excuse me, I have quite a bit of work ahead of me."

"So we're square now, right? No more mail-order tentacle rape movies delivered postage due in my name for my mom to find?" Hikaru asked, then looked around nervously at the other nearby customers.

Before she could answer, Nabiki's awareness was suddenly jarred by the sound of a wooden section of the front wall being destroyed. She turned in time to see Mousse finish crashing to a halt, but not until after destroying a booth and two tables with his entrance. The fallen Amazon made no move to rise, but did grope at his throat with his left hand, leaving bloody trails across his face and robes momentarily before collapsing completely.

Ukyo's reaction to the damage was to seize her combat spatula, vault over the grill, and loudly scream "Jackass!" towards whoever was behind the jagged hole.

Hikaru took the opportunity to casually flee while he was still ahead, unknowingly avoiding Nabiki's bill as well as his own.

"My apologies," Kuno replied somberly as he peeked his head in the hole cautiously, surveying the interior. "I shall of course see to it that you are duly compensated for the damages."

"Wait... you beat Mousse, Kuno? Who else is out there with you?" Nabiki questioned, disbelieving. When he turned to look directly at her, however, she paused to reconsider the injuries clearly visible on his face: a rapidly swelling eye, a split lip, and a trail of blood oozing slowly from his right nostril.

Tatewaki snorted. "I choose to ignore that comment for now, Tendo Nabiki." Turning to Ukyo, he asked, "May I leave this injured boy to your care? His shoulder and elbow shall require relocation, and it appears as if he may require stitches on his other arm though I am not aware of any cause for such an injury."

"Don't worry about him... I know how to handle stuff like this," Ukyo explained, "and I'll have a repair estimate for you tomorrow, Kuno."

He nodded. "I shall expect it shortly then. Oh, and do restrain yourself from using any cold water in cleaning his wounds; there could be... complications... from such a treatment."

"Why would you say that, Kuno baby?" Nabiki inquired, attempting to guide a definitive statement out of him rather than simply inferring his meaning.

Kuno narrowed his eyes and glanced between the two girls. With a burst of speed he reached into his belt, retrieved a translucent plastic object, and activated it in the girl's directions one after the other. All he said by way of explanation was, "Merely testing a hypothesis."

"What the hell was that for?" Ukyo demanded.

Nabiki wiped the slightly cool water out of her eyes and stared blankly at the young kendoist. She stood silent for a brief moment, pondering the potential shift such a new development to the standard Nerima social order would have on her business, but perhaps more curious as to just how he managed to finally work out the existence of the curses in the convoluted tangles of his mind. "Let me walk you home, Tatewaki; I think we have much to discuss."

"If you insist," Kuno replied evenly as he tucked the water pistol back into a hidden pocket in his shirt.

The middle Tendo massaged her forehead for a moment in frustration, shared a curious glance with Ukyo, and followed the young man out the door.

As she crossed the threshold, however, something deep in her mind screamed at her to stop. The Kuno situation was a pressing concern, certainly, but another issue was more important; finding Ranma before he does something drastic.

"Do you not wish to accompany me?" Kuno demanded, looking tiredly over his shoulder.

"No, on second thought I'll talk with you another time, Kuno," she replied, choosing to turn right instead of left, as Tatewaki had, when she stepped out onto the sidewalk. At a quick pace she traveled home, feeling far from happy but at the same time satisfied that she was making the correct choice.

**

* * *

**

He stood at the water's edge, watching the slow ripples glide across the deep blue glass-like surface to gently brush against the rocky beach at his feet. Tracing back across their reversing paths he noticed that they were spreading against the slight wind, moving outward from a single location at the far edge of the lake where large bubbles would rise from time to time.

"Tell me again why we're here, Saotome?" Ryu asked from further up the beach, annoyance mixed equally with curiosity. "I've got training to do yet today, you know."

"I'm not stopping you," Ranma replied coldly. "In fact, I recommend you leave now, for your own safety."

"My own... What, you think I can't look after myself just because you beat me once?" Ryu demanded.

Ranma turned his head to catch sight of him from the corner of his eye. "No, but I'm about to challenge something very powerful and I don't want to have to worry about not killing you while I'm dealing with it. I don't want or need your help, either, so just stay out of the way."

Ryu looked a bit angry, but he hesitated to reply. "Fine, fight your so-called eight-headed dragon on your own... And don't come back to my campsite unless you bring your own food this time." He turned to walk away, casually flipping Ranma the bird over his shoulder as he made his way back up the trail, disappearing into the undergrowth.

"Finally... geez, I thought he'd never leave," Ranma complained as he stepped towards the waterline. He reached down with one hand, cupping some of the lake water and splashing himself.

She suppressed the urge to cry out as an unfamiliar sensation of sharp pain crackling like lighting through her body, choosing to bite her lip instead. Cursing her luck, she added a mental note to talk to Cologne when she got back about this painful new development to her condition.

"Come on you stupid overgrown snake... There's a young, pretty, and virginal girl waiting here just for you, tee hee!" she called out in what she honestly thought was a sexy tone.

The water surface rippled slightly, though she was pretty sure it was only the wind.

Growling slightly, Ranma loosened the top of the black silken garb to reveal a hefty bit of cleavage and stepped into the lake, up to her knees in the cold, dark water. With a very forced smile she began to splash herself with the water playfully. Ignoring the intense cold as best she could, Ranma called out, "Oh Mr. Orochi... Won't you help me wash my back? Pwetty Pweese?"

Her efforts were met, after a short wait, by the slow surfacing of one of its smaller heads, stopping just high enough so that its two closed eyes were completely above the waterline. At a languishing pace the eyes opened to stare at the scene before it with a mixture of confusion and fatigue through the tangled mass of its sporadically-furred snout.

"Um... Hi! Can the rest of your friends come out and play too?" she cooed, smiling widely as she struck a suggestive pose.

The eyes looked her up and down quickly and then sniffed the air. Abruptly after the sniff its eyes stopped wandering, instead narrowing and focusing only on Ranma's face for a moment with an accusatory glare before sinking back into the lake.

She stood frozen for a moment with her eyes closed, her hands slowly tightening into fists. "Alright you bastard," she growled as a red glow began to form around her, "I tried to do this the easy way first, but it looks like I'll have to beat it out of you."

The red glow quickly concentrated into a pulsating orb around her balled fist. When it seemed to be of an appropriate size, Ranma leapt backwards to land on the beach and thrust her hand forward. The basketball-sized globe rocketed forward at this command and quickly disappeared beneath the surface of the lake at the point the single head had risen, leaving only a slight reddish glow from beneath the water. After a short pause Ranma unclenched her outstretched hand, accompanied instantly by a massive explosive swelling of the lake's surface and a deep resonating tone.

As the deposed water fell back in a misty torrent to the lake's surface the serpent's head appeared again, this time not stopping at the waterline and accompanied by two others. The heads reared back and released a deafening roar seemingly one part avalanche and two parts jet airliner.

Ranma removed her little fingers from her ears with a slight pop and resumed a fighting stance, awaiting her opponent's first move. She didn't have to wait long as all at once the three visible heads darted forward and breathed gouts of flame in her direction. Fully prepared for this tactic, Ranma almost casually sprang over the plumes of incoming heat, flipping twice in a tight ball and uncurling at the last moment to deliver a vicious heel kick to the middle head's brow ridge.

The head sagged with the blow, but then shook off the stunning effect of the strike leaving Ranma momentarily without a perch. The two previous heads circled in to snap at the falling girl and two more emerged from the lake directly beneath her. The four active heads surged forward to devour the falling girl, but were caught quite unprepared for her to change her trajectory with a pair of expanding orange blasts focused on the lower two toothy pits below her.

Ranma landed lightly on the beach once more, but had to roll aside as heads six and seven burst through the sand beneath her feet. Heads two and three, the only others not yet affected by an attack, circled in on Ranma's new position from the lake as the two newest entrants coiled behind her, ready to respond to her attempts to dodge. Heads one, four and five reared up as if to roar again, but no sound came forth.

"Adapting already I see," Ranma taunted as the serpent's combined assault began to unfold, starting with an open-mouthed charge from two of the lake heads at different heights and angles. Rather than dodging away this time, the redhead blasted several narrow beams of chi from her outstretched hands directly at the barren earth in the paths of the two attackers and dashed forward between them under the cover of falling debris. The two reserve attackers charged in, but unable to clearly see could not avoid the martial artist's follow up attack, consisting of a large and very dense ball of greenish blue energy.

"You'd better keep working on that combo, though," Ranma smirked, unfortunately leaving herself wide open for the sudden powerful blast that struck her in the back with sufficient force to send her tumbling end-over-end nearly twelve meters, completely knocking all the air from her lungs.

Doing her best to ignore the intense burning sensation in her back, the girl looked back with wide eyes toward the lake. The most central of the visible heads and the first to appear was either glaring or smirking at her with slight wisps of golden energy trailing like smoke from the corners of its mouth. Heads four and five reared back with wide open toothy maws, both pointed directly at her and both sporting a pulsing form of condensed golden light hovering between their jaws.

Desperately she scrambled away from her landing spot as twin lances of golden death blazed forth, blowing large craters behind her and kicking up copious amounts of rock and coarse sand into the air. In the confusion she once again found her feet and breath, but immediately was forced to roll aside as one of the serpents previously emerging from the sand attempted to tear her head off. The other land-based foe rumbled by soon after, managing to strike her a glancing but powerful blow with the side of its head as it thundered past her. She rolled with the impact as best she could, then ran at full speed away from the cloud of settling debris, muttering angrily, "moss-crusted bastard must have been playing dumb last time, not taking me seriously."

Upon exiting the cloud of debris she was immediately forced to duck and roll as two more chi attacks from the direction of the lake streaked toward her position. The twin blasts passed harmlessly overhead, but the sudden odd sensation of loose strands falling against her cheeks and the unmistakable scent of burnt hair told Ranma just how close they must have been to scorching her face instead.

She glanced up during this brief moment of rest to take stock of the current situation. Of the five heads protruding from the waters only the central one, the one she had kicked in the head, seemed to be gathering energy for another blast of that intense burning chi; an action that was mirrored by the two land-bound heads on each of her flanks. Oddly enough the energy seemed to be coming not from the dragon itself but from thin air around its open mouth... not good, considering that might mean that a constant stream of blasts would not tire it out any time soon. The two heads next closest to the center, still sporting slight burn marks from her earlier assault, were moving cautiously toward her position, sticking close to the water line. The remaining two of the seven heads so far revealed were pulling away from her position directly above the two advancing heads, perhaps in preparation for yet another combination attack.

"What now?" her mind whirled, trying to find a solution to the problem set before her. "Damn dragon has me outnumbered, outmaneuvered and probably outgunned, too. I'm way faster then any of 'em, but I can't do nothin' with that because they keep each other covered. But I bet they can't cover an attack that they don't know is coming..." With a wry and confident sneer Ranma relaxed her posture, allowing her battle aura to fade along with all traces of her existence. Keeping her footsteps too light to leave prints in the sand, she dashed forwards to meet the charge of two unsuspecting heads.

Her momentary invisibility was rendered useless, however, when the two heads advancing near the waterline plowed into the beach rather than at her previous position. The impact resulted in a wave of solid debris across a wide swath of the beech that clearly parted on contact with her. Immediately two crisscrossing bursts from the flanking heads fired in her direction, forced her to tumble backwards.

The two sand throwers now cut off her retreat with jets of flame to either side and behind her, leaving her with nowhere to dodge when the central-most head let loose yet another of the golden light attacks. She screamed, throwing forward the strongest blast of yellow-orange chi she could muster to counter the attack but the dragon's breath passed through the pressure wave unabated. At the last possible second she pulled her arms tightly over her face and upper chest, curling her head down behind the block and leaning forward on bent knees as the burning wave crashed into her.

"Why don't you fight back, Ranma? Don't you want to win?"

"Of course I do, damnit!" She mentally snapped as the blast blew her completely off her feet.

"Your friends will all die if we fail, Ranma; some slowly and others quite soon."

"I'm doing all I can!" she cried. Her sleeves caught fire as the blast carried her backwards through the twin plumes of naked flame.

"No Ranma, you're not. You're still holding back, afraid to face this beast with your full strength. Call out to the darkness and it will set us free."

"No!" she shouted, clenching her eyes shut against the pain as the golden light began to burn her exposed skin. "Calling on that technique is what got me into this mess in the first place. If I use it now I'll lose control again and someone is going to die. I won't be responsible for any more deaths!"

"What about all the people who will die back home simply because you wouldn't stand up for them? Your soul will be bathed in blood today regardless of your choice, fool!"

"But it won't be by my will!" she replied defiantly as her body crashed into a rocky outcropping.

"If you know the consequences of hesitation but do not act you have still willfully chosen to follow that path. Not fighting back is as good as killing your friends and loved ones with your own bare hands, Ranma!"

"No, there has to be another way. I just need more time to think," she pleaded, collapsing in a smoldering heap against the crumbling rock. "I just need more time..."

"The time is now, Ranma! Kill or be killed; take life to preserve it!"

She opened her eyes slightly and looked ahead, but only saw death looking back. The central head was charging forward with its hungry jaws spread wide in anticipation of a meal well earned, flanked on either side by two more bursts of golden light that cut off her escape routes. The other four heads were closing in from above on both sides, their eager eyes betraying the desire to snap up any spare crumbs her corpse left behind.

"Damn you," Ranma thought bitterly, knowing that the voice was right. Her aura flared with deep and angry red, shadowed at the edges. The sudden movement of air put out the slight flames trailing up her arms.

"Damn you," Ranma scolded herself under her breath for the weakness and overconfidence that made this sacrifice necessary. The shadows deepened to solid pitch as they spread across her aura, twisting and growing like thorny vines as she stood. A slight muscle spasm racked her body, but he ignored the minor sensation.

"Damn you," Ranma sneered at the oncoming serpent, staring it down with cold, dead eyes and a cruel smile. The darkness flowed freely now, around, inside, and through him, refreshing his depleted reserves of will and strength. The slight tremor and brief sensation of sleeping nerves faded into a profound feeling of power and health not unlike what he often felt right after a good fight.

With the utmost confidence Ranma raised one hand casually before him in a loose fist, eagerly anticipating the first spray of hot blood across his raw skin.

**

* * *

**

Ryu trudged through the undergrowth with heavy, deliberate steps, each a little harder and angrier than the one before. His mind was wracked with conflicting sides of a debate, one certain that Saotome Ranma was a complete jerk and the other just as certain that he was right to think he would just be a burden. Both sides were convinced that anger was the proper response to the problem, but had not, as of yet, determined whether it should be best applied within or without. He obeyed, though he continued to bitterly grumble as he made his way back to camp.

The debate was put on momentary suspension, however, when a thunderous roar unlike anything Ryu had ever before perceived literally shook the forest around him. Any doubts he had about the validity of Ranma's claim of facing off with a 'dragon' were silenced by the tremendous utterance, leaving him only with the desire to see just what was really going on with his own eyes.

He had only left the beach a few moments ago, so it took him only a few moments to return to a truly impressive scene. He watched with wonder, respect, and yes, even a touch of envy, as Ranma squared off with seven bearded, serpentine heads, each larger than a full-sized car. Obviously the younger fighter had improved in the time since they had last fought, for she moved with a grace and ease amidst the dangerous foes without losing her cocky smirk. Or at least she had, until one of the heads opened its throat to roar but loosed a beam of golden light rather than sound.

The blast was a major turning point, suddenly putting Saotome off her rhythm and forcing her on the defensive. He watched, paralyzed at the sight, as Ranma frantically dodged and weaved through the alternating golden blasts, gouts of flame, and bull rushes that the serpents brought to bear in rapid succession and synchronization, almost as if they were a single entity rather than individuals.

For a brief moment, Ryu noted darkly that Ranma seemed to fade out of existence as she had in their previous fight, a maneuver which should have been permanently sealed away from use as per their wager. A suspicion of the real reasons Ranma had tried to get him to leave the fight began to fester in the back of his mind like a jagged shard of glass, but still he did not interfere.

Under the continued assault of the serpents Ranma soon fell prey to a trapping pattern, pinned down by repeated blasts and a double gout of flame until another of the deadly rays caught her full force in the chest, her small frame thrown backwards into the cliff-face beneath his vantage point with an impact that he could almost feel through the stone. Ranma looked very small and weak in that instant, sprawled limply in the rocky sand as two more blasts flanked her position and the other heads charged in for the kill.

For a moment the thought flashed across Ryu's mind that he could help, perhaps draw the beasts' ire long enough for Ranma to escape. These thoughts were stilled when the something in the wind shifted imperceptibly, sending a chill down his spine. Below him Ranma began to stand, shakily at first but soon with a defiant air as the girl's... no, it was definitely a man's body now, was enveloped by a mysterious wave of energy the color of polished coal.

"So this is the technique he was so paranoid about last night," Ryu commented to no one in particular. The foreign and bizarre sight before him seemed to inspire a perhaps quite rational sense of terror and simultaneously fill him with the extremely peculiar sensation of slow warmth, not unlike coming home out of a storm.

Torn between incongruous attraction and repulsion for this strange technique, Ryu simply watched as one of the heads from the lake charged at Ranma, its mouth held wide open, ready to swallow the boy whole. Ranma stood defiantly with a single raised arm as if in a warding gesture as the beast engulfed him, only to witness the serpent fall to the ground around the black-clad young man in thick, meaty strips. Thick streamers of the mutilated beast's blood broke on Ranma's form like a wave crashing helplessly against the unforgiving coast.

The other four nearby heads bellowed with mindless rage and charged as the black-shrouded warrior pulled his forward-thrust limb back. The blackness collapsed in on itself, contracting like a viper poised to strike, then expanded outwards to meet the charging foes as Ranma threw his arms out wide, his movements trailing multiple shadowy echoes. For a brief moment the air around Ranma seemed to bend and distort like a dessert horizon, but then all that could be seen was blood and pulpy flesh.

"What the hell was that!" Kumon Ryu demanded, hiding in the shrubbery no longer. As if in answer, Ranma retracted the now widely-spaced fingers on the end of his outstretched arm and glanced upwards directly at him, meeting his questioning glance with sharp eyes and a wide, gleaming smile in stark contrast to his blood-splattered face. Somehow it seemed the honest smile of a child who just mastered a new trick, now seeking attention and approval from all witnesses.

In that look Kumon saw the ashes of his life, the years of his childhood wasted trying to master the very art that killed his father. The art he had recently been sworn to abandon now revealed not only to be unsealed but practiced unashamedly at a level that would have required long hours of practice to achieve. The art that turned out to be nothing but a lie his father had bought, that he had bought into as well, and was only beginning now to free himself of the debt. But now the joke went one step further, one more bitter taste of bile; the techniques weren't the joke he had been told they were, that he had all but renounced his father's memory over. If anything, using the combined schools was apparently a force more powerful and ruthless in nature than he had imagined possible.

Ranma's gaze returned to the lake as yet another serpentine head appeared from the water, this one easily four times as large as the others. The two remaining smaller heads moved to flank the larger one and fired more beams in Ranma's direction. They met no resistance save the cliff-face as Ranma disappeared from view completely, only to reappear directly before the larger head wile performing an inverted heel kick. As the darkness of his aura came into contact with the water's surface a large, solid blade of vacuum force formed, sucking up the water in its wake. The water-scythe grew in size until the attack met a solid resistance in the form of a wide golden sheen less than a half-meter from the beast's exposed throat, then dissipated.

The mayhem that proceeded from this point for several minutes is difficult to describe. The three heads released a near constant barrage of golden beams from both the smaller heads' mouths and the large one's eyes, intermixed with huge gouts of blue flame from the main head that covered a third of the lake at a time. Ranma seemed to fade in and out of view at different locations, leaping wildly across the lake as though it were a reliable foothold but never seeming to actually touch the water as he dodged between the serpents' attacks.

This protracted fight began to draw to a close as one of the smaller heads suddenly burst into a shredded mass of blood-dripping gore, followed very shortly thereafter by a similar treatment of the other. The large head, the last remaining, roared with pain and malice in a tone even more deafening then the last at this predicament. Ranma faded into view hovering casually above the lake, positioned directly before the great serpent with a contemptuous crossed-arm posture, his aura swirling dangerously about him in a larger radius than it had previously. The beast responded to the taunt with a sudden gout of flame which Ranma apparently did not choose to dodge.

When the flames abated Ranma remained floating in the same position, the only visible change being that his aura of darkness seemed even larger and darker than before, nearly six meters across. With a relaxed air he drew his arms back, then snapped them forward to release two vacuum blades in curving arcs toward the serpent. The formerly-pigtailed boy then performed a backwards flip, creating yet more blades with his feet on an intercepting path with the others. The blades met in pairs as the golden sheen again appeared before the beast, at first seeming to cancel each other out but then exploding outwards in tightly rotating waves of destruction. The effect seemed self-sustaining, and continued to tear at the shimmering barrier at opposing sides and visibly weakening the effect in the area between the attacks.

The darkness of Ranma's aura coalesced during this time behind him in two roughly wing-shaped masses, though still conforming to a spherical boundary. Ranma threw his arms forward violently, and at this command the wings separated into multiple thin darts, each impacting the weakened area in quick succession, finally managing to pierce the shell and continue through to lance into the surprised monster's body. Neither combatant moved as the glittering barrier collapsed nor as the rotating blades of distorted air faded away into nothingness, allowing the blood-tinted water to fill in the furrows in the lakes' surface. The serpent stared balefully at its conqueror for a moment, but when it finally blinked Ranma threw his arms wide again with fingers spread and the black impaling masses followed suit, ripping out of the dragon's flesh at several different angles. The severed lumps splashed heavily, one at a time but at an increasing pace, into the red-tinged water below.

As the much-lessened remains of his dark aura returned to its natural place, the blood-soaked victor floated down to the still-floating masses. He selected as a trophy of the kill a large section of the snake's former scalp, apparently coated with some sort of fungal growth that was notably absent on the smaller beasts. Ranma floated back sluggishly to the beach, dragging the scalp behind him with one hand, tightly gripping it by several grey-white hairs as he occasionally dipped into the lake surface. Upon reaching the shore Ranma staggered several steps up the beach, turned to look back up at Ryu with a threatening smile. He then collapsed sideways in a heap lying halfway in the bloodied waters, still tightly gripping his gruesome trophy as the blackness surrounding him faded away.

Almost the second Ranma hit the sand a slightly younger man of a slender but athletic build bearing more than a passing resemblance to Saotome emerged from the foliage. The newcomer was wearing a white bandana much like the one Ryu had recently lost, a loose black coat over sturdy cotton clothing, and wielding a janitorial-style wooden broom. The stranger knelt down to check the black-haired warrior's vital signs and, apparently unhappy with what he found, spat on the unconscious body. He then stood stiffly, glaring at the inert form and holding his broom tightly as if undecided whether or not to strike.

Ryu had seen enough of this. Leaping down from the rocky cliff to land awkwardly in the uneven and pliant sand below, resulting in planting a hand in the still warm blood pool. Shaking the filth from his hand as he regained his footing, Kumon shouted, "Back off, pal. If he isn't dead then he's got to answer to me first."

"You!" shouted the broom-wielding man in reply, "You should leave here right away!"

Somehow Ryu found himself unimpressed. "Want to try making me?" he demanded, flexing his pectorals. His skills were a bit rusty, but if Ranma wasn't standing by their pact then he didn't have to anymore either.

"It wasn't meant as a threat, just a warning," the man explained as his posture relaxed. "I've left traps all around this area to keep the animals contained."

Ryu backed down slightly. "Fine, whatever... Look, we can make small talk later, but right now we need to drag the sleeping psychopath here out of the lake before he drowns on us."

"He?" the young man puzzled for a moment, but quickly replied, "Agreed, she has much to answer for. I am called Kushinada Shinosuke."

"Kumon Ryu," he replied offhandedly as he approached. Up close it became obvious that Ranma was indeed female again, but the stubbornly raven-black and unevenly cut locks of hair seemed completely out of place on this smaller body, somehow.

**

* * *

**

"Ugh... where the hell am I?" Mousse groaned, "and where is my robe?"

Ukyo grudgingly pulled her head off of the countertop where it had been resting so very comfortably (just for a moment, she told herself) to look over to the booth on which the young man had been placed. "H'llo there, sleepyhead," she sighed in what she hoped was still un-slurred speech. "Had to take it off ya to patch you up."

"What?" he asked, rolling over on his side to look at his host and quickly discovering that putting weight on his right shoulder was a bad idea at present. He unleashed a short burst of what she assumed were Chinese curses under his breath as he rolled onto his back again and sat up clad only in his thin black undershirt and ripped silk pants.

"Yeah, that arm'll be sore for a few days, sugar. In the meantime why don'tcha join me? It's good for the pain, if nothin' else," she asked in a somewhat somber tone as she handed over his thick-framed glasses. In explanation she raised her small dish of lukewarm sake in salute and drained it in a gulp, trying to enjoy the slight burning sensation it left as it passed down her dry throat.

Mousse rose stiffly from the makeshift cot and shuffled over to a barstool at the counter next to her. She placed the small ceramic dish in her hand in front of then retrieved two more from a stack next to the small stainless-steel heater and filled each of them with a steaming, clear liquid. "Three? Is someone else here as well?" the injured young man asked.

"Nope; just us, Mousse, but you've got some catchin' up to do," she replied, propping her head up with one arm against the countertop and looking at him with a tired gaze.

"I will humbly share this alcohol with you, Ukyo," he replied seriously, pausing to down the first dish with his bandaged but functional left arm, "But only if you tell me why you're drinking."

"'Cause my fiancé is an uncarin' bastard, tha's why," she spat bitterly.

"Granted," the amazon replied, finishing the third drink, "but what else is new?"

Ukyo glared at him, snatching the dish out of his hand to refill it. "I get to complain 'bout Ranchan, but you don't... not in my house, an'way."

"By all means then, continue for the both of us," he answered. "I'm sure tired of doing it, for all the good it does."

"Hmmph," she grunted in response. "I found out this afternoon that not only has that jackass been worryin' me silly for the pas few days by runnin' off again, but he act'lly knew I was hurt and didn't do a damned thing to help. Top of that, he swore not to come back 'till he's gotten rid of all his pro'lums... and way I heard it, I think he 'cluded me in that list."

"Ah, I suppose that is a good reason for drinking then," he sighed, "good enough for the both of us." He then raised his dish in salute and intoned sadly, "To love unjustly lost."

"I 'spected you to be happy, Mousse," she noted dejectedly. "One less obstacle for you and Shampoo."

"If only," he sighed. "That's why I was fighting that Kuno idiot today; he somehow managed to get involved and the old mummy recognized him as a legitimate contender for Shampoo's hand now."

"Cheer up, Mousse. Kuno's so caught up on Akane and Ranchan that he won't be much of a threat," she offered halfheartedly.

"That's just it, he says he's given up on both of them for my Shampoo," he almost cried, "and ever since that mess with Saffron she hasn't said one kind thing to me, not even the little friendly chatter we used to have at the café."

"Maybe you aren' being fair to yourself, Mousse, staying loyal to her for so long," Ukyo stated bluntly. "If she doesn' 'preciate you by now then maybe she isn' worth the wait. You deserve better."

"So then you don't think Ranma is worth a damn either?" Mousse snapped, looking away sharply.

"Hey, I told ya not to say stuff about my Ranchan!" she yelled.

Mousse turned back to face her glare with one of his own. "So my love life is open game for dissection but I can't even point out that you're being a hypocrite?"

"How'm I being a hyp'crite!" she demanded.

"You said that if my loyalty hasn't paid off by now then Shampoo isn't worth the wait, never mind that you're drowning your troubles with Ranma but apparently still clinging to this non-existent relationship. It's the same damned thing!" He downed another drink and slammed it on the counter for emphasis.

"It's not the same at all!" she retorted. "We've known each other since we were kids, and besides he's engaged to me! All you're doing is hangin' around and annoying Shampoo!"

"Oh really? I guess it never occurred to you that Shampoo and I grew up together in the village? That we were close friends?" Mousse snapped. "It's tradition in my village that the strongest warrior in each generation marries the fittest male. If Ranma hadn't blundered along Shampoo and I would be together by now! But of course that couldn't happen, the stupid outdated village laws had to screw up my life once again."

"But Ranchan would have married me by now if it weren't for all the other girls!" she complained.

Mousse just looked at her.

"Oh, right," she sighed, apologetically. "That's your problem, too." Ukyo attempted to pour herself another drink but succeeded only in spilling the remaining sake across the counter.

"I think you've had enough," Mousse commented.

Ukyo folded her arms across the bar and laid her head down tiredly. "Maybe your' right, Mousse. Maybe 'nough is 'nough."

"Well, for you at least," he sighed as he lightly swirled the last remaining dish of liquor. "I could have used some more yet, I think."

"No, I mean 'nough with one-way love," she explained, turning her head to face him but not raising it.

He set the dish down on the counter and let his head droop. "I think I already gave up on Shampoo a few days ago, actually."

"What 'bout the fight in the gym, or today then?" she asked.

"Just kidding myself, really," he explained with a slight bitter chuckle. "I think I was more upset that those two jerks lucked into something I couldn't manage to earn than actually trying to win her love... just fighting for my wounded pride, I guess."

"Lucky you, then," Ukyo sighed. "I still love my Ranchan, even though I shouln'."

"You'll get over him eventually, I'm sure," he replied, downing the last drink with a sad smile. "You'll meet someone who has a much better appreciation of the loyalty and warmth you have to offer, Ukyo."

She paused in the conversation and for the first time in the evening stopped to really look at the young man before her. He didn't have Ranma's rugged good looks or cocksure grin, but rather a more cultured kind of handsomeness and a greater appreciation for common politeness. His shoulders weren't quite as broad but he stood several inches taller, and his muscles were, as she'd learned while bandaging him, just as toned beneath his clothing as Ranma's.

She squinted against the slight blurriness to take note the details of his face, usually so strong and proud but at this moment softened with hopelessness and loss, weighed down with bitter regrets. In a way he reminded her of the way Ranma would look every time he came to her restaurant and sat in this exact same spot needing someone to share his troubles with, a young man nearly crushed to death under the weight of his responsibilities. In short, Mousse looked hopeless, vulnerable and in desperate need of comfort; the same way she assumed she would look to herself right now.

Gathering her courage, she managed to break the silence by blurting, "Someone like you?"

"'Uh?" Mousse replied without looking up. She noted that his voice was just a bit slurred now as well.

"Ya said I should find someone who can 'preciate my loyalty and warmth," she explained, scooting closer to him on her stool. "Who better n' somebody who has the same problem?"

Mousse looked up at her, looking directly into her eyes but not backing away. "Are you sayin' what I think you are?" he asked seriously.

In answer she scooted off of her barstool to stand uneasily, maintaining a firm hood on the counter for support. With her free hand she gently brushed the long, sleek hair that hung in front of his cheek to its ends, reversed direction to follow the contours of his jaw line up to his glasses, and lightly removed them from his face.

Mousse opened his mouth to say something, but Ukyo would tolerate no more words. She leaned in quickly, dropping his glasses carelessly so that she could cup his face while she stole a kiss. In the process of moving in, however, she lost her grip on the countertop and tumbled into him heavily, dislodging the surprised young man from his seat to fall in a tangled heap of drunken limbs with her on the restaurant floor.

**Author's notes:**

First off, if you're reading this 'Ghost', could you send me an e-mail directly? I tried to reply to your rather helpful reviews but my messages keep getting bounced back for some reason.

Secondly... yeah, I know this took forever to come out. I've got a life outside of fanfiction that keeps me pretty busy, and on my free time I'd often rather have a few drinks with friends and watch football than write. I said that I'll finish this story and I meant it, but I won't give any specific deadline for completion. To those of you who have inquired about the story's status, please understand that I do appreciate that you enjoy my work so don't take this as some sort of insult. However, I am not at all sorry that this story has been 'delayed' for so long... that's just the way things are going to be for this fic.

The hold Kuno used on Mousse is a slightly modified form of the move known as "Kataha Jime" or "Single-Wing Choke," a traditional subdual grip practiced in judo.

To the best of my knowledge, Shinosuke's family name isn't given in the manga. The name Kushinada is taken from the young woman who was to be the Orochi's sacrifice in the original Japanese myth, so it seemed appropriate. If anyone can offer me a reliable source for an official name, though, I'll be happy to change it.

And yes, I am fully aware that some of the material in this chapter could be considered 'cheesy'. Rest assured that nothing will be developing in nice, clean lines despite any present appearances.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	8. Shuffling the Deck of Fate: Act 3, pt 3

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
**A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 3: Shuffling the Deck of Fate  
**Part 3

**"Insider" Pre-readers:**  
Freak247

**"Outsider" Pre-readers:**  
Aondehafka  
Edward  
Sterling Ag

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

Ryoga attempted to teach Akane the basics of a chi attack, but for reasons unknown to him the attack exploded in his hands, injuring him badly. Soun, Akane, and Kasumi went along with the boy to the hospital where the staff struggled to make sense of the incident. Genma, meanwhile, was informed of Happosai's death due to 'natural causes'.

Across town, Kuno had a confrontation with his second, Toji, which ended in the captain choosing to resign his membership in the kendo club. Almost immediately after this incident Mousse attacked him, ending very badly for Mousse and disturbing a meeting between Nabiki, Hikaru, and Ukyo on the subject of Ranma's disappearance. Ukyo tended to the injured Mousse and (after consuming large amounts of alcohol) came on to him quite strongly.

Meanwhile outside the borders of Nerima, Ranma at last confronted the Orochi with the intention of securing a cure for the situation back home. The serpent caught him off guard with a powerful previously unrevealed ability and nearly defeated Ranma, but this battle was transformed into a wholesale slaughter when Ranma willingly gave into the temptation to use his new abilities. Onlookers Ryu and Shinnonoske witnessed the destruction and gleeful savagery that Ranma unleashed in a manner that seemed to be a further refinement of the sealed Saotome secret arts, Yamasenken and Umisenken.

**

* * *

**

Drifting on the hair's-breadth line between dream and wakefulness, Ukyo sighed happily. Above and beyond any other slight traces of emotion and sensation, she felt protected, warm, and loved. In the real world she clutched possessively to her thick warm blankets against the cool night air, but her dreams were quite a different story. In then she was pressed flesh to flesh against Ranma's iron hard chest, greedily draining every ounce of heat her human furnace could produce while he slept unaware, shifting slightly with each deep, bellows-like breath.

Truth be told this was one of the tamer dreams she'd had concerning the young man, but in a very simple way this feeling of natural togetherness and intimacy far overpowered even the wildest of her previous fantasies. The dream held an eerily realistic quality, for instance the subtle sensation of her lover's toes lightly brushing against her ankle. It all made her wonder just how much better such simple sensations would be when her wish finally came true.

Reality, however, continued to pester the young chef, refusing to allow her to return completely to the comfortable stillness of the dream. She still had three cracked ribs after all, and no matter how comfortable the position should have been her injured side was rather tired of supporting her weight. Ruefully she acquiesced to the demands of her body, rolling over and pressing her naked back and hips against the young man, settling for his relaxed bicep as a pillow in lieu of his chest.

She was quite pleased when he reacted to the change almost automatically, shifting slightly on his side and slipping his free arm around her. The calloused hand brushed lightly across the tender skin of her stomach to rest finally with his index finger nestled into the crevice beneath her left breast, almost as if seeking out her familiar heartbeat. She snuggled into his light embrace as he kissed her neck, his long, soft locks of hair tickling her skin with the movement. Huskily he whispered, "Wo ai ni."

It took almost a minute for Ukyo's sleepy mind to snap to full alert. All at once she went rigid with a full body muscle twitch. Her eyes sprang open, then immediately clamped down against the sudden appearance of the golden orange sunrise. She rubbed roughly at her complaining sockets, groaning out loud all the while.

"Go back to sleep," a male voice from behind her almost begged, snuggling against her shoulder.

With slight trepidation she opened her eyes just a crack, remembering to shield them with her hand from the sun's direct assault. A wave of jet-black hair entered her vision as it shifted in time to the slight prodding of her bedfellow's chin into the crook of her neck. Stretching out her other senses she noted the strong lingering taste of sake on her teeth, a musky scent permeating the room, a deeply resonating tone of drawing breath, and a faintly wet, clammy spot beneath her hips on the mattress.

"Damn it," she grumbled bitterly. "Now what the fuck am I gonna do?"

Her partner let out a contented sigh and suggested, "Wait a few more hours... too tired."

"Wake up, Mousse," Ukyo commanded.

"Why?" he inquired. "What time is it?" His warm hand left her chest to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Just get up Mousse. You have to leave before anyone finds out about this," she explained, slipping out of his grasp to make a hasty trip to the bathroom, modesty be damned. As she stood and immediately had to grab the bedpost for support as her well-earned hangover made itself known with a heavy throbbing ache behind her eyes. "Damn, how much did I drink last night?"

"No idea. You were blitzed before I even started drinking, and tried to keep up with me even then," he replied while stretching, then stifled a yawn. "Besides, so what if someone knows?"

"What do you mean 'so what'?" she said a little too loudly, immediately regretting it. "I'm engaged you idiot, and last I checked you were chasing Shampoo, not me!" she called from the next room.

He groaned in pain, apparently faring no better against the demon beast alcohol, before replying, "But that's all in the past now, Ukyo. Amazon law says..."

"No. Hell no," She cut him off, "Don't start with me on the '3000 years of history' speech, just get out here and forget this ever happened."

"But..." he began as the rush of water in a western-style toilet marked the end of her diversion. Moments later she came back into the room wearing a comfortable old cotton sweatsuit.

"Look Sugar, it was a mistake, all right?" Ukyo sighed. She began gathering his discarded clothing from various locations about the room. "A simple mistake we both made in an awkward moment; happens all the time to normal people everywhere. All you have to do is get out of here before someone randomly drops by and keep your big dumb mouth shut! If you can do that we won't have anything, not even outdated laws from backwater cultures, to bother us. Our secret, you understand?"

"Um... no?" Mousse offered meekly, sitting up with some effort to reveal his hairless bare chest and bandaged shoulder.

Ukyo growled in frustration and dropped the tangled bundle of clothing on him. "Well then don't worry about understanding it but do it anyway, damn it!"

"Can't we talk about this?" he asked, looking through the pile of cloth. "And where are my robe and glasses?"

"Downstairs I guess," she replied offhandedly as she finally covered her nakedness with a bathrobe. "There's nothing to talk about. The sooner we forget this ever happened the smoother things will go for both of us."

"But we're married now, and that changes everything!" he protested.

"That's it, Sugar," she growled, dragging the confused man out of bed despite his protests. "I told you I don't want to hear any of that crazy shit." She ignored his complaints of injury and nakedness, marching resolutely downstairs to the restaurant's front door where she released him on the street. His clothing ended in at a pile at his bare feet.

Ukyo prepared to go back in and find his other remaining possessions, but stopped mid-stride as a sudden chill ran up her spine. Hugging herself against the cold, she looked down and noticed she stood completely engulfed in shadow, its edges stretching off much further down the street. Her eyes followed the shade as it ran parallel to other dark silhouettes, though it seemed to stretch much further then the rest. The darkened streaks ending at the feet of four figures, all dressed in black, who stood silently observing the scene.

The first was a tall, muscular young man in a sleeveless shirt, camouflaged pants, and a pair of military boots. On the other side of the group was a bald old man, slightly bent with a cough. Next to him stood a younger man with a staff of some sort in his hand and wearing a baggy coat that made him look unhealthily thin.

The last however, whose shadow still lingered over her, was altogether different from his companions. Though slightly shorter than the other young men and only carrying a satchel, he possessed a manner that seemed far more threatening. His clothing, a black gi with the top untied that presented a stark contrast against his bare chest, was barely more than a loose collection of torn rags blowing in the breeze. His hair was equally unkempt, a tangle of uneven, matted black tufts. His eyes were masked by unfathomable shadows, but somehow she knew they were locked onto her, coldly observing her every expression. Another breeze ruffled her robe, and Ukyo caught a scent of blood on the wind.

The tattered young man turned to the militant one and gestured towards a side street. The thin one seemed ready to protest, but the older man calmed him and urged him to follow the camouflaged man's lead down another street. Not bothering to watch their departure, the remaining black-clad figure began to walk toward the store at an even, controlled pace.

Instinctively Ukyo reached behind her head for her combat spatula, but grasping only air caused her to growl at her own unprepared state. She hesitated as the man continued to approach, unsure whether she should stand her ground or make a break for her combat tools.

Mousse, now wearing his silk pants, stepped in front of her and took up a defensive stance that kept his injured arm back. "Stay back... or I doubt you'll find our hospitality to your liking."

The figure stopped for a moment, his cold eyes shifting from Ukyo to Mousse in apparent puzzlement. With a shrug he continued walking forward. The Amazon struck out against his approach, but the blow was easily intercepted with a firm grasp on his outstretched wrist. "I don't have time for melodrama today, Mousse," the young man replied as he casually shoved the injured would-be protector aside and off his feet.

As the man approached her Ukyo's instincts told her to run... and yet she didn't. The voice that coldly dismissed her accidental lover's attempted defense struck a cord in her psyche as well, creating the mental equivalent of a double exposure where the disheveled figure was concerned: one sporting a cocksure grin and eyes alive with every challenge life could offer, the other a dead-eyed stare and a sneer of displeasure towards prey that failed to adequately amuse before expiring. As the man stepped into her reach she held her breath and risked brushing his bangs out the way to peak at his face. A familiar pair of grey-blue irises met her gaze.

"Ranchan?" Ukyo squeaked, her suspicions confirmed but not at all sure if his return at this moment was a good or bad thing.

"You were expecting someone else?" he replied gruffly. His eyes seemed sunken from lack of sleep, his gaze unflinching.

"Um, not exactly," she answered, diverting her glance and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "You've been gone for a while now and we had no idea when you were coming back... or if you were coming back. Besides, you don't exactly look yourself, Ranma." She glanced down and noticed a faint red stain on her hands and belt. "What happened to you?"

"It's not really important right now... just suffice it to say that most of the blood spilled wasn't mine," he assured her, rubbing more of the semi-congealed residue from his bangs. "Dang, thought I got rid of all of it... Anyway, what's the deal with Mousse?"

"Er," she began, wringing her hands as she spoke, "he was just kinda staying at the restaurant so I could take care of his, um, wounds. Kuno beat him pretty bad and left him unconscious on my floor, so it sorta became my problem."

"Kuno beat you, eh?" Ranma commented bluntly to the rising heap of Amazon. "The jerk's apparently on a streak. Still, that doesn't exactly explain you getting dragged outside naked, though, does it?"

"He, ah... was sleepwalking! He mistook for me Shampoo and grabbed me in my sleep!" Ukyo tried to salvage an excuse without outright lying... merely distorting the truth and leaving out most of the detail.

"He was just lucky! If my hidden weapons techniques hadn't failed me for some reason I'd have killed the fool!" Mouse complained at the same time, then turned to her and rebuked, "What? What are you saying?"

"Yeah... I thought that might happen. That's sorta why I took off," Ranma explained, looking at Mousse. He thrust a hand into the satchel he carried and producing an unidentifiable lump of greenish-brown... stuff... as he pointedly ignored the argument brewing in front of him. "After the fight at the gym I noticed that everybody's chi wasn't flowing correctly. For the normal students the problem will probably go away on its own in a couple a' weeks. For those who actually use their chi, though, I figure it might have gotten worse each time ya tried... maybe even become harmful."

"And you know this how?" Ukyo inquired as she elbowed the Amazon in the ribs to shut him up.

"As often as I used to end up at Doc Tofu's place, I kinda picked up some knowledge on chi flows. Well, that and I'm pretty sure it was because of me," he replied somewhat evasively.

"So it was your fault!" Mousse angrily echoed.

"Yeah, and that's why I'm fixing it," he snapped, plopping the handful of gunk in Ukyo's hand. "If ya burn this moss as incense while ya meditate, your chi pathways should be restored. Rub whatever's left on those ribs, too."

"You want me to breathe this junk?" Ukyo asked skeptically, a little surprised he already noticed her injury.

"Yeah, both of ya and Konatsu too if he was at the fight... I kinda lost track of everyone involved. Then," he paused to drop another handful in Mousse's palm, "I want you to make sure Shampoo and the old bat get a serving too. Actually, reverse that; I bet Cologne needs it more than either of you right now."

"The Elder has been in very poor health of late," Mousse revealed, "but I'm not exactly welcome there at the moment."

"Well, tough. Both of ya go then; I've got other people to deal with at the moment," he dismissed them, turning to leave. "You might wanna get dressed though first."

"I told you it was nothing, Ranchan... just a misunderstanding!" Ukyo pleaded.

"... and do something 'bout the sake still on your breath," Ranma called back without turning.

Ukyo watched him walk away in silence for a moment before turning and grabbing Mousse by the throat. "I told you to shut up! God, why are all Amazons so stupid!"

"Why are all Japanese so loathe to accept the natural consequences of their actions?" he retorted. "By Amazon law we are now married, as he has been to Shampoo for over two years now."

"Do I look like an Amazon to you? Your laws don't mean jack here, pal. Just accept that it was a stupid, one-time, meaningless thing," Ukyo snapped as she walked towards the restaurant door. "I already kicked you out for mentioning it so I suggest you drag your sorry ass back to the Cat Café, do as Ranma said, and go back to working on Shampoo."

"No! There is no way in hell I'm losing two women to a degenerate asshole like Saotome," he shouted at her back, "especially when he doesn't even seem to want either of them!"

Ukyo stopped abruptly, her hands balled into fists and shaking almost uncontrollably with rage. She spun on her heel, marched up the defiant young man, and slapped him hard enough to stagger him. As the stunned Chinese boy stumbled for his footing she furiously marched back to the restaurant and slammed the door behind her. She stood for a moment with her back against the door staring into the dark, empty room before her, then slid down the surface and began to cry as Mousse pounded fruitlessly on the door.

**

* * *

**

The solitary walk across town in the quiet morning streets seemed to take much longer than he expected. Perhaps it was because he was neither running nor balanced on the fence top. Then again maybe it was just because he was lost in conflicting thoughts of jealousy, betrayal, sympathy, and hope. As the dojo gates came into sight, however, he forced these thoughts aside; he was on a mission now.

The large wooden doors opened easily but with a groan as he passed into the short cobblestone path leading to the main gate. He glanced aside as he walked, noting the carefully trimmed roes of shrubbery that lined the walkway intermixed with a few recently uprooted spots of bare soil. The yard beyond was evenly cut and smoothly shaped, save an array of scorched craters and upturned cones of raw earth. Ranma sighed, observing this almost divinely composed balance of order and destruction. Home sweet ruin.

Recovering his sense of purpose, Ranma resolutely stepped up to the front door of the Tendo home. It was still very early to be calling but he proceeded in anyway, knowing that at least one member of the household would most likely be awake. With some slight annoyance, however, he remembered the rather unfriendly terms on which he had parted with that particular Tendo. Rather than knock, he decided the best course of action would be to deal directly with the only one he actually intended to speak with now. The rest could wait until evening.

He backed up a step before leaping to the sloping foothold of the lower roof and following it quietly around to the rear of the home. He crept past the first two windows, learning that his father was not present and confirming that Kasumi was already awake, before reaching his destination. Lightly he tapped on the glass but the girl slept soundly behind a venetian blind. Rather than risk revelation so soon (and in such a potentially damning situation) by knocking harder, he chose the more direct method and carefully raised the windowpane.

The window proved fortunately unlocked, gliding smoothly and silently open. With practiced stealth he drew back the more troublesome blinds, pausing momentarily as the breeze picked up and his target shifted slightly in her sleep, her hand haphazardly stretching underneath her pillow. He froze, worried that perhaps she had awoken... but her slow, deep breathing and calm aura reassured him. Carefully he eased the blinds the rest of the way up and stepped through the window onto her desk. The wood was sturdy and held his weight silently as he continued his languid movements until he was at last safely on the floor.

With measured steps he traversed the distance to her bedside and stood above her vulnerable, lithe form. For a moment he stood transfixed at the sight of her sleeping form; so peaceful and unguarded in expression. Her face offered a pale contrast to her dark, silky hair, not unlike seeing the moon bight in the night sky. He soon pulled himself away from this vision, however, and reached forward to gently shake her awake.

He was quite unprepared when her hand sprang from beneath the pillow holding a canister of some sort. He watched blankly as it swung in front of his eyes, spraying a fine mist. "Ghhhhrrrraaa!" he complained between clenched teeth as his pupils seared in chemically induced pain, rubbing blindly at his sockets in a vain attempt to remove the irritant. He was equally surprised when he received a sharp blow to the testicles a moment later, followed by a stomp on his foot and a kinfehand blow to his temple.

"What, you thought just cause I don't run around town shouting 'I'm a martial artist' on a daily basis that I'm defenseless?" the blurred vision of loveliness jeered. From the noise of shuffling desk drawers he guessed she was grabbing something heavy to clobber him with further. Was this behavior a family trait?

"I guess I shoulda just risked talking to Kasumi or Akane first," Ranma replied as he divided his attention between guarding his crotch from further abuse and rubbing at his eyes. "At least with them I woulda been expecting something."

"Kasumi? What do you..." she trailed off, continuing with a soft tone, "Ranma?"

"Who else do ya know that climbs in through... oh never mind," he answered, annoyed. "Nice ta see you too, Nabiki."

"Is it really you?" she asked, moving closer cautiously.

"Geez, does everybody around here only recognize me 'cause of the pigtail?" he responded, finally getting one eye cracked open. "Stupid dragon…"

Rather than the expected (and well deserved, he thought) apology he wanted, he found himself on the receiving end of a rather hard kiss. Amid the sensations of a flickering tongue in his mouth and soft, warm flesh pressed against him invitingly, he decided it would have been a pretty good experience if not for the distracting ache in his groin and searing pain still affecting one eye.

"I owed you that," she whispered as the kiss ended. Images of a similar situation on the school rooftop bounced around his semi-lucid mind.

A hard smack across the jaw brought him out of that fairly quickly. "I owed you that too, you jerk! Where the hell have you been?"

"Can I at least wash this out before ya hit me again?" he snapped.

"I... yeah, but make it quick. I want answers to all the questions that your absence has raised and I don't plan on waiting for them," she replied forcefully.

"And keep it down, will ya?" he asked as he fumbled towards the door. "I'm not ready to deal with everyone else yet. I came to you first because I need your help."

"Help with what?" she asked.

He ignored her question for the moment and quickly headed towards the small upstairs bathroom. The squeak of a door opening further down the hall motivated a burst of speed around the corner.

"Nabiki?" his official fiancée asked drowsily from somewhere down the hall behind him.

"Hey sis, what's up?"

"I thought I heard voices in here and wanted to check it out. I thought maybe a thief was trying to break in."

"No, I just stubbed my toe on something when I got up to go to the bathroom. Guess I need to remember to clean up tomorrow, eh?"

"Geez, it's freezing in here. Why is your window open?"

"Er..."

"You weren't sneaking some of Dad's cigarettes again, were you?"

"You won't tell Kasumi will you?" she rolled with the conveniently supplied alibi. "Last time I got caught my bentos were half-cooked for weeks. I had to blow all of my spending money just to get a decent lunch every day."

"Why shouldn't I tell?"

"If you do I'll double the interest on your... crap, you paid off your last debt last week, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh. Oh forget it, I won't tell. Just promise me you'll try to quit, alright? One smoker in the family is bad enough."

"Thanks sis... It's just been one of those weeks, you know? This is the first time in forever, I swear."

"Just make sure you put the pack back before Dad notices and throws a fit."

"If he does I'll just blame it on Mr. Saotome."

"Nabiki, he doesn't smoke!"

"So? When has not needing something ever stopped him from taking it if he thought he could get away with it?"

"You're impossible!"

"No, I'm tired. Get out of here already and let me get back to sleep."

"Fine, see if I come to your rescue again..."

Ranma listened as the youngest Tendo walked back down the hall and closed her door before he dared to try for the bathroom again. He turned the cold water faucet just a trickle and quickly rinsed out what remained of the eye irritant, then made his way quietly back to Nabiki's room.

He found her curled up back under her covers with just one eye open, glaring at him. She motioned quickly with one finger for him to be quiet and to come over to her. As he approached she handed him a pen and pad of paper with a single line written on it.

YOU OWE ME, SAOTOME.

He took the pen back and went to work on a reply.

WaT elsE iS nEW? SenCE Wen DO YU SmoAKe?

She glared at the pad silently for a moment before snatching the pen back.

YOUR HANDWRITTING IS HORRIBLE! CAN YOU GET US SOMEPLACE WE CAN TALK WITHOUT LITTLE MISS NOSEY HEARING US?

With a slight smile he picked her up and invoked the silent thief technique, waiting patiently for Nabiki to remember her part: focusing on being calm. When the disturbances in the aura subsided he made his way through the door and down the stairs towards the relative privacy of the wooded section of the back yard, next to the storage shed.

They passed undetected through the home until they neared the kitchen where Kasumi was preparing breakfast. As Ranma's foot first crossed the line of the doorway Kasumi froze and turned her attentions on the door. He followed suit, remaining completely still under this unexpected scrutiny. Kasumi relaxed her hold on the pan, allowing it to clatter to the stovetop.

"Evil spirits be gone..." she whispered fearfully at the unseen pair.

Taking the cue, Ranma dashed down the hall then out into the back yard, leaving the older girl clutching fearfully at the small golden cross at her neck.

"How in the hell did she notice us? Didn't you concentrate like I told you?" he complained as he set Nabiki down behind the small utility shed, next to the bare earthen plot that used to be the dojo.

"I did my best! Oh, who cares anyway, we got away with it," Nabiki replied defensively.

"It matters because it means I'm getting rustier then I thought, and that's a problem 'cause I might need it ta get some kind of control of this damned new ability," he explained.

"That's what happened at the school then?" she asked seriously. "You tried to use it and lost control?"

"I don't know for sure," he answered "but most likely, yeah. All I remember is having another of those screwed-up dreams again and then waking up in a pile of rubble. Not like last time..."

"You used it again since then!" she complained loudly.

It was his turn to reply defensively. "I didn't have a whole lot of choice at the time, and I really don't wanna talk about this right now, either. Let it drop."

"…But you'll talk to me when you're ready, right?" she probed further.

"Fine, whatever," He agreed. "Look, I've got more urgent stuff ta talk to you about anyway. I need you to find out the names of everyone who was at the fight and ta help me distribute the cure."

"Cure?"

"Yeah, what I went to collect. Didn't Gosunkugi tell ya?" Ranma puzzled.

"Apparently not correctly, he didn't..." she replied with a cruel grin. "It looks like your copy of 'Backdoor Bondage Boys 3' will be arriving soon, Hikaru."

"What?" Ranma puzzled, looking a little ill.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," she dismissed his question. "You were saying something about needing a cure..."

"Yeah, whatever happened really messed up the chi flows of everyone in the building," the martial artist mused. "I've gotta make sure everybody gets a portion of this before it gets dangerous."

Nabiki stiffened, then put her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Ranma, it already has. Ryoga had some sort of accident the other day while training with Akane, Cologne is in a coma, and Happosai... died late last night. I'm sorry."

He sat in silence for a moment, letting the truth sink in before slamming his fist into the ground in frustration. "I'm so stupid! If I'd just thought ta take the train the first time instead of running off on foot like a moron they'd be fine now!"

"It isn't your fault!" Nabiki tried to comfort him. "Even if something you did caused all of this, you didn't mean for any of it to happen. It's tragic, but it was just a random accident."

"No," he replied resolutely. "I'm responsible for all of it, whether I meant to be or not. I shoulda controlled it, shoulda been able to stop myself. It's my fault."

"I don't agree, but the most important thing is to give out this before anything else happens. We can worry about blame once the situation has stabilized."

"You're right... I already ran into Ukyo and Mousse," he began, ignoring the way her eye twinkled with curiosity, "and made sure Shampoo, Cologne, and Konatsu get a dose. Here's some for you and Akane..."

She looked quite skeptically at the handful of goo he held before her.

"You need to burn this and inhale the smoke while meditating. Just think of it as a healthy version of smoking."

That earned a glare. "I'll have you know I haven't touched a cigarette since seventh grade, Ranma. It was just one of those stupid rebellious things kids do, and probably nowhere near as dumb as the stuff you were doing at that age."

Suddenly remembering an adventure with Ryoga involving sugar cubes, a jar of kerosene, and a 'borrowed' hot glue gun, he wisely dropped that line of conversation.

"Speaking of stupid things..." Nabiki began again, then stopped and held out her hand.

"Does this outfit look like it has pockets to you?" Ranma asked, mildly annoyed.

"Fine, but your tab seems to be growing Ranma..." she smiled enigmatically. "I think Tatewaki finally found out about the curses somehow."

"Say what?" Ranma demanded.

"He mentioned a complication with cold water and Mousse, then shot me with a squirt gun when I asked him about it. I'd say this was a good thing, except that he apparently has become more paranoid then usual and managed to kick the crap out of Mousse... probably used his curse against him."

Ranma pondered this information with a half-grin. "Hmm... thanks for the heads up, Nabiki. I'll keep an eye out for anything even dumber than usual going on."

"The biggest problem is going to be finding Taro," Nabiki continued. "He could be anywhere by now."

"Nah, that's no problem," the young man replied with obvious humor. "Just wait 'till the worst possible moment for him ta show up, then yell out 'Pantyhose'. It'll work like a charm."

"That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard, but what scares me is that I think it might actually work." Nabiki shook her head. "It's official… I've talked to you too much if that actually made sense to me. Take me back to bed before I start striking ridiculous poses and shouting out esoteric names for them."

Ranma balked. "There's no way I'm trying ta sneak past Kasumi again today. I don't need that kind of headache, and she doesn't need any more stress."

"Just jump, silly. I'm getting to like these rides," she replied coyly as she hugged herself to his chest and closed her eyes.

The martial artist blinked at her twice before deciding not to let her teasing get under his skin. He certainly had enough on his mind already without her odd sense of humor... and he didn't want to encourage her to add to his girl troubles, just in case it wasn't a joke.

Without effort he hefted her slight weight and jumped to the roof ledge outside her window. As she carefully eased herself back into the room he momentarily considered dropping by Akane's room to let her know he was back. One absent adjustment of his still tender nether regions, however, convinced him to just get on track with distributing the cure rather than risk further abuse to said parts tonight. Still, there was one more matter of urgency to attend to here.

"Nabiki?" he called softly after her.

"What?" she groaned, just having settled back under her covers. "You wanna join me or something?"

"What?" he sputtered.

"Geez, you're just too easy to tease sometimes," Nabiki replied. "Spit it out already, and keep it down if you're so set against seeing the rest of the family today."

"Well, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to ya about..."

"You aren't planning on keeping your return a secret from them are you?" she complained. "How the hell am I going to explain this magic gunk?"

"That's not it," Ranma assured her. "Look, I got some time to think while I was away and I think I'm finally ready ta get this whole fiancée mess taken care of."

"You're finally going to choose?" It was Nabiki's turn for surprise.

"Well, sorta," Ranma began to explain, then cut himself short. "I'll explain it later. I just need you to get everyone to my mom's house tonight around 7. All the fiancées for sure, you, Kasumi and your dad, the Amazons, the Kunos... hell, grab Ryoga too if he's well enough. It'll save me some trouble later if I don't have to explain things to him after the fact."

"So let me make sure I've got this all down: you want me to find out everyone who was at the fight, distribute this junk to them, then round up all of your fiancées and their various relations, and finally get them all together at your mom's recently rebuilt home for a little chat that will likely end up destroying said building again," Nabiki rattled off, counting on her fingers.

"Well, yeah, pretty much," Ranma replied.

"And you're planning on paying me for all of this effort how?" she wondered.

"Um..." he stalled, "with my eternal gratitude?"

Nabiki grinned. "I'll just put in on your tab as 'services to be discussed later', all right?"

He wasn't sure that he liked the sound of that, but didn't see any alternative at the moment... It was going to be quite the hassle, after all. "Fine," he answered, silently hoping that these services didn't involve a camera and him wearing something skimpy and feminine again. "Goodnight Nabiki."

"Sweet dreams, my prince!" she sang back softly in a teasing voice.

This new twist to her teasing was going to be trouble, he decided.

**

* * *

**

Genma was not having a pleasant morning. With the boy gone he'd much rather be sleeping in, but recent events had unfolded in such a way as to prevent this outcome. Life is cruel, he decided.

Before him in the front parlor sat three uninvited guests: two boys of about Ranma's age and a man that made him feel younger simply by looking at him... though the lucky old coot still had his hair. One of these boys was recognized as someone Genma would rather not see at the moment. The others he couldn't place, so he made preparations to run for it if the subject of a bill came up by staying nearer the door than they were.

"Sorry for the wait... training, you see. Very important," he lied, fighting back a yawn.

"Quite all right, sir," answered the oldest guest. "Your capable young wife showed us in."

"So what brings you to my home at such an early hour?" Genma inquired.

"We're waiting for Ranma. He told us to wait here until he got back," the unknown young man in a black school uniform replied in an annoyed tone.

"Well you'll be waiting a good long while then, I suppose," Saotome answered, looking away towards the kitchen. "The boy has been gone for some time now..."

"Yeah, we know that already," snorted the familiar-looking boy.

"...and I can't say I expect him home any time soon," Genma finished, ignoring the interruption. "I'm afraid you'll have to find other sleeping arrangements until he returns. I can't afford to house you all indefinitely."

"I hardly think we will be waiting more than an hour," offered the older man genially. "Ranma assured us he would be here fairly soon, just after running a few errands."

"What!" The master of the house demanded. "Where did you get this information from? Who are you people?"

"Name's Kumon Ryu... I'm surprised you forgot already," the slightly older boy answered first. "And we got this information from Ranma when he told us to come here a little while ago. Relax old timer, before you hurt yourself."

"Remember whose house it is you're standing in, young man," Genma growled. Turning his attention back towards the others he asked, "Besides, I was only asking you two."

"I am Mr. Kushinada," answered the gentleman with a slight head bow, "and this is my grandson Shinosuke. We traveled here with your son this morning by train. We wished to insure his safety; though we tended to his injuries he was quite exhausted by his fight."

"Ah, I thank you for your generosity then, sir," replied the sometimes-panda. "I trust he didn't cause you much distress?" ...or expense.

"Your son has destroyed an irreplaceable..." Shinosuke began.

"Stow it, shrimp. I've got real problems to discuss," interrupted Kumon yet again.

"Yes, there we do have a small issue to discuss, Mr. Saotome," offered the grandfather. Ryu glowered at the man as he continued, "There is the matter of Ranma's train ticket home and the compensation he promised..."

Ah crap... At the first mention of money he turned and bolted for the door, only to find it opening into his escape path. With a heavy thwack he collided with the solid wood fixture and sent it slamming closed again.

"Hey! What the heck is going on in there?" Ranma complained from outside. "Am I not welcome in this house either now?"

"Where the hell have you been, boy?" Genma roared as the boy in question again attempted to inter the house.

"Out," Ranma replied curtly, slipping past him. "Sleep first, explain later," he yawned.

Cursing his son's ungrateful ways, Genma grabbed the boy's collar to arrest his lackadaisical flight. Something from his recent memory told him not to hold on though... too overt a threat. "Explain now. You have duties, responsibilities here... you can't just run off whenever you feel like it Ranma!"

The boy stifled another yawn. He then stuck a finger in his ear, twisted it about, and removed it swiftly with a short popping noise. "Funny, for a second there I thought you were trying to lecture me about not running from responsibilities..."

"Boy..." Genma warned.

"...Which is downright hilarious when ya think about it." Ranma continued, "I mean really, a guy who spent mosta his life stealin' and making deals he never had any intention of fulfillin' is now trying ta lecture me on the subject just as I come home from potentially saving several lives. That's just priceless."

"What do you mean? Is this something about money?" the Shinosuke wondered aloud.

A little curious, but much more motivated by avoiding the line of questioning his guests had taken, he bit back his instinctual reply to such open criticism. "Saved lives how? What are you talking about?"

"Just that whole exploding gymnasium thing," Ranma began, then lost the cockiness of his voice. "All except for the old freak I guess; wasn't quite fast enough to save him."

"So you've heard," Genma intoned seriously. "This is a serious issue indeed, requiring a later conversation with the Tendos as to the continued leadership of the school. I understand that he named you his successor, but keeping in mind that it's your fault he's dead..."

"Look, I don't really care about that right now. You want to be named grandmaster? Fine, whatever. Just let me get some sleep already; I've got a busy day ahead of me."

"Don't care!" Genma bellowed. "This is the school we're talking about boy, the foundation upon which both of our lives rests! How can you be so flippant about something so vital? Have you no shame?"

Ranma retorted angrily, "No, it's not about the school; you're talking about a meaningless title. I really don't care what you and Mr. Tendo decide about the pecking order stuff... it won't change the fact that I've learned just about everything either of you can teach me and improved upon your techniques. I don't care at all about that side of the art. All I want to do is become as strong as I can be. Isn't that why we left all that behind and trained on the road to begin with?"

Something deep in him stirred, a whisper of a very tempting life, one free of debts and responsibilities, that he chose to leave behind. With an effort of will he forced the lingering temptation back down and silently hoped that his son would never learn the true reason for their departure. He had trained the boy well, but the fires of ambition burned very brightly indeed in the young man's heart; would Ranma be able to resist the poisoned lure if fate offered it to him? Recent signs seemed to indicate no... Genma stiffened as a chill passed through him.

"Ranma, the leadership of the school is no small matter," Genma intoned in a more neutral voice. "Soun and I once came to blows over this topic soon after we sealed away the master, an incident that nearly cost us our friendship. Luckily we came to an agreement to unite the schools through marriage, but that's in jeopardy now."

"You mean you finally realized that me and Akane aren't in on this whole idea of yours?" the youth snapped.

Genma ground his teeth in frustration at the boy's damnable stubbornness. "Ranma, the arrangement was made to seal the fate of the school, but with the master now dead and already having named you his successor... well, Tendo isn't going to like the school being completely out of his hands. This could very well start a feud if you don't stop goofing around and marry Akane immediately."

Ranma stood a little taller suddenly, more confident and aggressive. "I will –not- marry Akane just to keep you and Mr. Tendo on good terms, pop. There are way too many stipulations on my honor for me to just up and choose one of the girls. Don't get all crazy on me though; there still might be a way for that to happen, but only if Akane really wants it enough, and for the right reasons."

Genma began undaunted, "There is no discussion to be..."

"Look, as long as you're all so talkative this morning I've got some business to discuss," Ryu interjected. "The sooner it gets resolved, the sooner I'm out of your way."

"This is a private..." he tried to correct the crass comment, only to be cut off yet again.

Shinosuke spoke up now as well. "We've got plenty to talk about too, Ranma. Just how do you plan to pay for destroying my family's legacy?"

"Just shut up, all of ya!" Ranma commanded. "If you want to talk about this stuff you'll have to either get in line or take it up with pops here, cause I'm goin ta bed. Now."

"Boy, this conversation isn't over yet!" Genma shouted over the complaints of the others.

"No, you're right pops, it isn't over yet... but it will be tomorrow," Ranma stated with a strong sense of finality. "This whole fiancée mess will be gone come sunrise tomorrow, one way or another. In the mean time, why don't ya make yourself useful for a change and deal with these guys' complaints?"

"What is all this shouting about?" Inquired Nodoka from the kitchen. She peeked around the corner with an annoyed glance, her expression changing quickly to a smile. "Welcome home, my son."

"Oh hey mom, how's it going?" the young man replied, pushing his hair back from his face.

"Things are well," she replied, taking in his appearance, "very well indeed." Her eyes narrowed slightly as her smile took on a darker aspect, one that Genma knew from experience meant trouble for himself later. "I trust your opponent looks much worse for wear than you?"

Shinosuke bristled, growling slightly as he stared balefully at Ranma's back, turned dismissively towards him.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Ranma muttered uncomfortably. "Look, I'm really tired mom. I'll talk to ya about it later, okay?"

"Certainly, my son. I'll look forward to hearing of your latest adventures," she replied simply. She watched as he mounted the stairs then turned her gaze at one of the other young men. "And why are you here, young man? I'd have thought after our last meeting that you would have sense enough to stay away, 'son'."

"Uh, hello again, Mrs. Saotome," Kumon Ryu answered quietly.

"Since you know who I am, perhaps it would be polite of you to tell me your name," she replied sternly. "Perhaps the real one this time."

"I'm Kumon Ryu, maam," he responded. "I'm sorry that I..."

"Kumon?" Nodoka repeated, cutting him off as she turned her attention to Genma. "Was that not your sister's married name, Husband?"

"Er, yes, dearest. I believe this boy is Mihoko's son, our nephew."

"What?" Ryu replied with a terse, skeptical tone.

"You thought I would share my secret techniques with just anyone?" the elder Saotome returned with indignation.

"If that's true then why didn't you say anything before? Why did you make such a big deal of keeping the techniques secret?" Kumon asked. "It would still be in the family, after all."

"I said nothing because I didn't want to dissuade my son from facing you, a worthy opponent that would truly test his skills. The problem of the secret techniques, however, is not simply a matter of keeping them within the family; rather I don't want anyone to use them again, including even myself," Gemna stated. "They are far too dangerous to be allowed free use."

"Well then you've got a problem, Uncle, because Ranma has obviously been ignoring that little stipulation of yours," Ryu informed the bald master. "I witnessed him using not only techniques from both schools but also some incredible new adaptations of the splashier moves. He's obviously been practicing them for a while now."

"What?" Genma roared. In his mind the pieces of the puzzling recent events surrounding his son began to take shape; Ranma was falling under the sway of the dark temptation he himself had been forced to face down long ago. "Boy, get down here right this instant!"

The young man in question peeked his head around the corner of the stairs after the third such command. Behind his tangled mass of hair came the reply, "Damn it, why can't you do anything on your own, pop? Just pay the man and shake a few hands... no biggie."

"This is a serious matter, boy, and I expect you to act like it!"

"Fine, I admit it; I broke the promise and used those techniques of yours... but only when I didn't see any other way out and I was protecting somebody else. It's not like I used them to rob anyone..." Ranma explained, jibing his father in the process.

"The circumstances don't matter, nor does your intent. I wanted those techniques sealed and I meant it!" Genma bellowed.

"I'd say you pretty much gave up that right when you started handing em out to anyone who asked, pop," the younger Saotome snorted, then stifled a yawn. Turning to his cousin, he offered, "what if we agree to alter the deal... say we can't use em for anything illegal or something like that? Sound fair?"

"Oh sure, you're all gracious about it now that you've got time invested in the arts... where was this thoughtfulness when I had to completely retrain myself from the beginning?" spat the slightly older boy. "I demand a little more compensation for the hardships I've gone through while you were off improving the techniques. A damn handshake isn't going to cut it!"

"You entered this home under false pretenses young man, causing me great emotional stress," Nodoka interjected. "I would think these complications would be somewhat balanced out."

The young man tried defiantly to meet her gaze but soon realized what Genma already knew quite well; Saotome Nodoka never backs down from her convictions. "Fair enough..." he finally conceded, swallowing as he averted his gaze guiltily. "But I also want access to the Umisenken scrolls!" Ryu demanded as an afterthought.

"Are the lot of you quite finished?" Genma growled, interrupting the bargaining process. "What part of 'I want them to be sealed' isn't being understood here?"

"Just the part where your opinions on the subject count, pop," Ranma snapped. "I'd say it's a deal, Ryu. Come back later today and I'll find em for ya."

"No you most definitely will not!" Genma argued. "These techniques are incredibly dangerous and I forbid the both of you from practicing them anymore!"

"You know pop, you're actually right for once," Ranma ruminated. "It seems that it really is important to know who is in charge of the school. Seeing as how that would be me now, and considering your moves are part of the Saotome branch of the art, I see no reason why I can't overrule you on this."

"You have no idea what you're doing, Ranma" Genma intoned gravely.

"My son is just stepping up to the new responsibilities that destiny has placed before him," Nodoka interjected again, "as any true man would do. Don't you agree husband?"

He looked at his wife for a moment, noting the all too familiar icy glare that he had come to truly fear... the same look Ranma shot him more and more often since they first visited Jusenkyo. Hanging his head in defeat, the large man sighed a silent prayer that his son would be more open to reason after some sleep. "Yes, dear."

"...Thought so," Ranma smirked, then disappeared once more around the corner.

"Why am I here?" wondered Shinosuke from a forgotten corner of the room.

"Now what?" Genma snapped, annoyed.

Nodoka slipped back into the kitchen, replying in a light tone, "Now that this family business is taken care of I'll leave you to the rest dear. I wouldn't want to burn breakfast. You're all welcome to stay if you like."

"Your son recently murdered a powerful spirit of nature, a holy beast known as the Orochi," the older man explained. "With the death of this creature the natural balance of the world has been shaken, such that an entire forest of magical beasts that will soon be of no consequence to anyone!"

"Orochi? I Thought that thing was already dead according to the legends," Genma snorted, disbelievingly.

"Well, now it is," added Ryu. "Nothing could survive what Ranma did to that snake."

"What?" Shinosuke asked, sincerely.

"You mean you've never heard the legend before?" the older man inquired, glancing in Ryu's direction.

"Legend of what?" returned the forgetful boy.

"The Orochi!" Genma yelled back. He was really beginning to be annoyed by this kid, and the fact that the other one didn't know when to leave wasn't helping.

"Oh, that old legend? It was very nearly killed at the hands of the god Susano-o millennia ago," explained the young man in surprising detail. "Of course, the legends didn't think too long about the fact that one of the serpent's heads was blessed with immortality. Over time that head managed to regenerate some of the other heads in a lesser fashion, and with time nearly regained its full potency."

"Well not this time," Ryu interjected. "The moss got stripped from what was left of it."

"So the boy finished a job that supposedly should have been done a long time ago... how is this a problem?" the rotund Saotome asked. "Did he cheat you out of some sort of heavenly reward or something?"

"Yes! My family was divinely charged with guarding the serpent and the creatures of the forest enhanced by its presence. He stole my birthright!" Shinosuke declared.

"Sonny," interrupted a bearded old man, "I really think this discussion should wait for a later time. Can't you see there is already great turmoil here since that young man's return?"

"Who are you again?" the young man inquired.

"Not this bit again..." moaned Ryu.

The old man smacked him over the head. "I'm your grandfather, dolt!"

"I have a grandfather?" Shinosuke asked, turning to Kumon for assurance but only receiving a roll of the eyes.

The grandfather sighed and looked in Genma's direction. "I'm sorry for the disturbance, sir. Sometimes it seems that my grandson's memory is an even bigger burden than that serpent ever was."

"Ah, yes, children can be quite tiring at times," Genma intoned, glancing at the ceiling. "Their youth fills them with a fire that makes them believe they are invincible and infallible. For both our sakes, I hope they grow out of it soon."

The youth, apparently realizing he was being chided, complained, "Aren't we here for more than just conversation?"

"Shinosuke, we came here to see to it that the young man returned safely from his quest. He freed us from a centuries-long burden; you should thank him for this gift of freedom rather than demanding some sort of punishment," the grandfather tried once to explain. "Besides, I think it's high time we had a vacation. These old bones have been cooped up for far too long already, and some free time might do you some good."

"But Grandfather..." Shinosuke whined.

"But nothing," the old man replied. "You're acting like a slave who tastes freedom for the first time but can only think longingly for the whip!"

Shinosuke growled as he turned away, flexing his hands in restless annoyance. He then turned to Ryu, who was smirking at the older man's comments. "Hey, you wanna spar? I've got some energy to work off."

The other boy stretched his arms over his head with a series of pops, and then gestured towards the back yard. "Sure, it seems I've got some practicing to do as well. I accept your challenge..." he smirked, "whoever you are."

Genma eyed the two wearily as they sauntered out the door, hoping his nephew would have more sense than to use the sealed moves in such a confined space. Shaking off the latest of his worries, he patted the only other remaining guest's arm and asked, "Do you by any chance play go?"

**

* * *

**

She regarded with mixed feelings the subtle changes in the color of the western sky. Jet, indigo, azure, aqua, amber, tangerine, and finally a deep, glorious blood red... the death throes of the sun were a beautiful thing, to be sure. Far more glorious than even it's noontime brilliance, and, to her eyes at least, of a higher aesthetic caliber than its birth had been. Viewing the daily spectacle was not a pleasant event for her today, however, for it only served to remind her that evening was upon her... that soon she would have to confront her love head-on and learn the truth of the allegations against him.

It was a preposterous thing really, one she felt guilty even entertaining the thought of. Kuno Kodachi was not foolish enough to believe that her beloved held her in equal esteem, but with diligence and cunning she would no doubt prove her clear superiority to those commoners that dared to call themselves his fiancées. It was laughable to think otherwise.

Still, she was not able to ignore the similarities between Ranma and the red-headed wench who claimed his name. His smile, arrogant and challenging; his eyes, cold and piercing; his hair, both restricted and wild; the subject of her hate had all these and more. The only non-gendered trait the girl had which her fiancé lacked was an open distaste for her.

But did he lack that trait?

"No!" she screamed aloud to her abhorrent thoughts, defying that line of questioning to erupt in her consciousness again. If his feelings for her were so negative she surely would have seen some sign, some hint.

The doctored photos, the cookies...

"No, no, a thousand times no!" she snarled. In response to these assaulting memories she summoned up two of her most cherished moments; her beloved catching her fall and wearing a tuxedo while battling for her honor. Still the seeds of doubt were growing within her mind, and she began to dread the evening anew.

"Mistress?"

Kodachi whirled on the intruder to her private thoughts, only to find one of the serving staff cowering at the balcony doorway. She said nothing, but busied herself by readjusting her pale lilac obi to better showcase the floral pattern, dark purple blossoms in a swirl of magenta petals.

"Miss Kuno, you asked me to inform you when it was 6:30?" stammered the older woman, a maid in the family's service for as long as she could remember. Her name was of no consequence.

"Yes, yes, return to your duties," Kodachi dismissed the servant with a limp wave of the hand. She followed the woman from the balcony and left her at an intersection in the adjoining hallway, heading instead towards the main staircase and the front door.

"Sister," regarded her brother simply. He was dressed in a dark blue kimono accented sparsely with silver crescent moons. It was as formal as hers in design, but he obviously was more at ease in the heavier clothing. Personally she much preferred the more western styles of formal wear for their less restrictive fit, but such an occasion as an invitation to her beloved's home required a certain amount of reverence.

"You are prepared, Brother?" she inquired as they entered the luxury sedan provided for their transportation.

"I am," he replied curtly, patting the left side of his kimono. He seemed to be held in check somehow, his mannerisms and comments brief and betraying nothing, as if prepared for battle. Then again, considering their destination perhaps it would be for him. The rest of the drive was spent in mutual silence.

They arrived somewhat before the designated time, a rarity for a Kuno. She was far more accustomed to forcing others to wait for her or catching them completely unawares. Her love's father, a rather brutish man, answered the door with obvious annoyance, ushering them towards an open space devoid of furnishings. Judging by the pattern of tatami mats, the area apparently consisted of two separate rooms at most times. Just how large a gathering was expected?

The only other occupants of the room she recognized were the gender-confused chef, Kuonji, and her serving girl, both dressed formally in clothing that had seen some slight wear. She sniffed disdainfully as they entered, but said nothing. The other guest, an angry young man in inappropriate modern garb, leaned against the far wall, distracted by the sounds of a brewing argument.

"Boy, why are –they- here?"

"The same reason as Ukyo, pops; I invited them."

"But why? For what purpose?"

"I told ya already, you'll just have to wait until everybody's here to find out. Now go make yourself useful while I figure this robe out!"

"Ungrateful brat," the host grumbled as he came back into view on his way towards the door yet again.

In a short time the room became filled with various persons from the area, including the Tendo family (minus the eldest daughter), the staff of the Cat Café, the ruffian Hibiki boy, and Ranma's parents. Only the middle Tendo girl and Ranma's mother saw fit to properly dress for the occasion, the rest opting for more comfortable garments. She snickered at the attire of these guests though inwardly she was slightly jealous of their choice; her kimono was becoming quite warm.

Finally Ranma entered the room, walking stiffly to a central point along the wall and sitting as the chatter in the room ceased. Her love hardly looked himself now, sporting a slicked-back hairstyle with long, straight bangs in place of his usual tuft of hair and pigtail. His determined expression and spotless white kimono further emphasized the surreal gathering.

"Um, hey everyone... Thanks for coming," he began, uncertainly.

"Everyone is here, boy, so spit it out!" demanded the father.

A cacophony of questions exploded at this cue, predominately such as "Where the hell have you been?" and "Why are we here?"

"Give me a chance, alright? Everything in due time!" shouted Ranma in response. When the demands cooled to a low murmur he continued. "First, I have to ask a question. Did anyone here –not- follow the directions I sent for inhaling the moss?"

When no hands rose, he nodded to himself. "Good. Next question." He turned in the direction of the Tendos and said, "Almost two years ago it was decided that Akane would be my fiancée. I haven't made a big deal of it until now, but the fact remains that this choice was offered to me though I never made it."

"Ranma..." warned the youngest Tendo, backed up by her father.

"I'd never force one of you into it though, so I want to get things straight, once and for all between us," he continued. "What about it, Akane? Are you still willing ta marry me?"

"Ranma darling!" Kodachi found herself shouting in disbelief.

"Wha... What kind of question is that to ask, and in front of all these people?" The girl in question stammered.

"Yes or no, Akane. I need to know once and for all where you stand."

"I..." she began, then hesitated. Closing her eyes and nodding towards the floor she finished, "Yes, damn it. What did you think I'd say after we almost got married just a few days ago?"

"Just makin' sure, Akane. I got no room for wishy-washiness tonight."

"Ranchan, just what are you up to?" Ukyo demanded, on the verge of tears. "You invited us all here just to throw that in our faces?"

"Just give me a sec, alright?" Ranma complained. "Geez, the night ain't over by a long shot and nothing has been decided yet."

Pacified for the moment, the fiancées waited for him to continue.

"Okay, given what's happened lately and the fact that she's missing I can guess that Kasumi would want no part of this, but what about you, Nabiki?"

"What?" the named girl squawked in surprise. "What the hell are you talking about Saotome? You're Akane's fiancé."

"Not just yet I'm not... like I said, I never actually answered the question," he stated. "So what's it gonna be? I can never completely tell when you're joking or not so I really don't know what to do with ya."

"You're seriously asking me how I feel about you?" she snorted, looking away and shaking her head. She hesitated a moment, but raised her gaze back to the young man and replied in a tight voice, "You've got more than enough trouble as it is, Ranma. I'm not about to get into the middle of that mess again."

"Fair enough," he replied with a sigh, betraying perhaps just a hint of disappointment. Such an ego her beloved had... to feel loss over the foolish rejection of such an offer by a heartless mercenary. "Okay, so as it stands now I am officially engaged to Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi. Any of the rest of ya got an objection?"

"Airen is Shampoo husband, not fiancé!" piped up the Amazon.

"Shampoo, I never agreed ta that and I sure didn't know what I was getting into at the time. I think I'm bein' fair in saying you're on equal footing as the rest for now," Ranma explained, having obviously put some thought into it.

"But when Shampoo had jewel..." the violet-haired gaijin began to complain, but was silenced when the ancient woman beside her rapidly stated something in their native tongue that made Tatewaki smirk.

Kodachi raised her hand. "I might have an objection," she said, "but for now just a question, Ranma dearest."

"Kodachi?" he asked, somewhat surprised.

"I..." Her brother stood next to her, and for once his presence brought her strength rather than simply annoyance. "I have heard a rumor I would see disproven. Now, before this discussion goes any further."

"Yes," Ranma whispered, with his eyes closed.

"They say," she began, "they say that you are in fact the same person as the red haired girl who broke my perfect winning streak in martial arts rhythmic gymnastics. That you are under a curse of some sort."

Ranma nodded. "Kodachi... I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault such rumors persist, my love!" she cried, only half believing her own words. "We can disprove it now, in front of all these witnesses. Brother?"

At her comment, Tatewaki retrieved a plastic water pistol once again from the inner folds of his robe and pointed it at the young man in question. His hands shook slightly.

Nodoka excused herself from the room.

"Go ahead." Ranma replied morosely. "Get it over with." Her brother pulled the trigger in rapid succession, wetting Ranma profusely.

Nothing happened.

Kodachi and Tatewaki smiled broadly. Most of the room stood in shock. Genma, Mousse, and Ryoga charged. Ranma jumped clear of the initial assault, then kicked his father from behind into the other two attackers, who collided in a pile.

Nodoka came back into the room carrying two cups.

"It has to be cold water," Ranma stated simply, turning to face the siblings. Taking one container from his mother, he upended its contents over his head.

Before her was quite a miraculous sight. Kodachi's eyes were assaulted by a range of shifting colors; jet, leather, sienna, and finally a shade of bright red. Shape and mass shifted and warped, hard edges melting into soft curves. The only constants were the bright grey-blue eyes fixed on hers and the unmistakable expression of tightly controlled pain.

Tatewaki's fists balled tightly at his sides. "Which are you really, then?" he demanded.

Upending the other container over herself, Ranma reverted to his natural form. "I'm a guy, Kuno. I tried ta tell you lots of times but you just wouldn't get a clue."

"You... you did, didn't you?" the kendoist remarked almost to himself. "Why date with me then? Why abuse my honor so?"

"I was trying to get something out of you every time, Kuno," Ranma admitted. "Not one a my shinin' moments, I admit, but I guess I owed you a little payback after all the headaches you caused me."

"Then you all were thusly informed, were you not?" he accused the room as a whole, gaining strength in anger. "But of course, all the spheres of heaven have had their fill of humor at the antics of my passion! Behold the Blue Thunder! Behold the great fool!"

No one dared reply, but Ryoga looked away guiltily toward Akane.

"Tendo Nabiki, we will have words later," he decreed, then left.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Kodachi softly.

"Kodachi..." Ranma began.

"You soothed my hurts with one hand and struck with the other, never revealing them to be one and the same. Why?" The black rose inquired, beginning to tear up.

"Led you..." echoed Ranma. "Come on, you're the one that was chasing me! I never tried to..."

She continued, ignoring him. "You saved me on the rooftops. Complimented my cooking. Stood up for my honor to both my brother and my rival, Asuka. You never treated me rudely while male. Why?"

"I gotta protect people in need, plus some times I had other interests like..."

"You were the first man who had the will to resist me. The first to show kindness towards me. The first to steal my heart. Why?" She was crying freely now.

"I didn't steal your heart, Kodachi," Ranma answered, wiping her cheek. "You just misplaced it."

Kodachi turned away quickly. "Yes, apparently I did. You're not at all the man I dreamed you were, Saotome Ranma. I want nothing more to do with you."

With that she left, her head held proudly high despite the tears on her chin.

**

* * *

**

"Not just yet I'm not... like I said, I never actually answered the question," he stated. "So what's it gonna be? I can never completely tell when you're joking or not so I really don't know what to do with ya."

"You're seriously asking me how I feel about you?"

She was finding it quite hard to concentrate suddenly... how on earth could he have asked her that of all questions, in front of all his other suitors no less? Had her flirting been to obvious last night? Was it just teasing or did she really mean any of what she said?

Yes, she admitted to herself, she did mean it; despite herself she wanted the big lug in the worst way.

Love?

Maybe so, but she also loved her sister. Following her instincts and saying yes would destroy that relationship, possibly even split up her whole family.

Saying no, on the other hand, would maintain the status quo. At worst she and Ranma could still be friends... and when Akane drove that marriage into the ground as she knew would eventually happen, perhaps she and Ranma would get together (pressured by the parents, of course, so it wouldn't be entirely her fault). That way she would have time to finish college without a long distance relationship to maintain, and heck, with a little experience under his belt he'd be an even a better catch!

Put in terms like that, the choice was clear. Besides, maybe even Ranma couldn't protect her from all the pent-up anger and sexual frustration in this room.

Tendo Nabiki fights her battles on her own terms, or not at all.

"You've got more than enough trouble as it is, Ranma. I'm not about to get into the middle of that mess again."

The conversation continued around her, but she wasn't really engaged with... in it, anymore. Ranma continued running the show in a bizarrely orderly manner, even fielding complicated legal and moral issues from the Amazons. This was a Ranma she could really get behind, a man she could mold into a great leader... Had she chosen wrong?

She was somewhat brought back to the world when the Kuno's made their move, and was surprised at the emotional depth the two of them offered... almost like normal people. She even felt some empathy for Kodachi, having had her own hopes, however brief, crushed out of her long ago by the revelation of Ranma's curse. Kuno's implied threat barely registered as he passed, she was so caught up in observing Kodachi's near breakdown.

Well, that went about as well as she expected, she admitted. Better, actually; nobody needed to be rendered unconscious.

"Anyway, I been doing a lot of thinking the last few days about how to sort this out, how to finally make a choice," Ranma began again, ending her meandering thoughts. "Well, I been thinkin' about it for a lot longer than that, honestly, but the business at the Tendo's house the other day kinda put a rush on things."

"See, for a while now I been trying ta stay neutral on the subject cause it would be dishonorable to drop any of your claims. I guess I was hoping that it would eventually work itself out, but I can see now that waiting is only makin' things worse," he continued. "The point of all of this is that while I was away I finally came ta realize something..."

The room went silent in anticipation.

Nabiki stiffened as a teasing session with Ranma on the subject of his sexuality and dreams suddenly came to mind. She glanced suspiciously at the unknown young man in the back who thus far had remained silent, noting his well-toned frame and pretty-boy hair. She closed her eyes and made a silent prayer, "Please don't let him be gay."

"...It ain't my choice to make."

"What!" several voices asked as one, hers included.

"So whose choice is it then, Ranma?" Nabiki snorted, still unhappy with the conclusions of his 'reasoning'. "Your parents? The gods? A magic eight ball?"

"No... it's theirs, the girls," Ranma tried to explain. "The dispute is really on their ends of the deal since I can't make any honorable choice at all."

"Boy, this is unacceptable," bellowed Genma. "You will marry Akane and that is all there is to say... your father has spoken and you will obey!"

"Yeah, you've 'spoken' quite enough already, pop... that's where this situation came from in the first place: your big mouth. No more," the young man stated with finality. "You don't have anything to say anymore, and neither do I."

"Ranchan, sugar, I'm not seeing how this makes things any better. If anything it's just going to get worse now between us," Ukyo calmly explained. "Someone might even end up dead before things get sorted out."

"Oh, that's easy enough," Ranma replied, stone-faced. "If any one of you gets killed, crippled, poisoned... anything serious like that... I swear ta do the same back to the one that did it. Simple as that."

"Please, Ranma," Akane snorted. "You can't stand to spar with a girl, much less lay a hand on any of us like that."

"Try me."

Nabiki shivered. The black, empty look in his eyes said it wasn't just an idle threat, and she knew from experience that he couldn't bluff to save his life. Just what the hell happened to him out there?

"I really wouldn't advise it, girl," added the strange boy against the back wall. "There's no more of that moss stuff left to fix it up when 'psycho boy' here gets done with you."

"Ryu," Ranma stated calmly, "this isn't any of your business. Sorry I couldn't find the scrolls for ya yet, but how about you take it outside for a while. Maybe go for a walk."

"Hey, not my problem if you gotta live up to that oath 'cause your fiancées don't know just what kind of guy you really are," he replied with a shrug as he stood up and began walking. "At least try and clean the place up again before I get back, okay?"

The room stayed still until the front door shut, at which point Ranma asked, "So where was I again?"

"Oh, just threatening TO KILL ME!" Akane yelled.

"Actually, he only said he'd do that if you killed someone else first, Akane," She tried to explain. "Not likely, so don't blow a gasket. If anything, I'd say he just did you a favor," she whispered, glancing briefly at the Amazons. Cologne returned an unamused stare.

"Anyway, I doubt it's gonna get to that point... none of ya are going to have time to stew over it of plan anything crazy. That's the reason you're all here tonight."

"This situation has been escalating for over two years, Ranma... heck, since before you were even born in one case. I wouldn't give good odds on it resolving tonight," Nabiki stated matter-of-factly. "One in a thousand, maybe."

"I don't think you've got it yet, Nabiki. I'm not asking them to settle it tonight, I'm telling them," Ranma stated, somewhat sadly. Turning to speak to the group as a whole he continued, "I won't allow this situation to get any worse than it already is. I've tried being patient but that only gave it time for the argument to get deeper, less flexible. No more. My honor demands I stop this before it gets any more out of hand. Maybe I can't make a choice, but there's still one honorable path open to me: seppuku."

Time seemed to grind to a halt from her perspective, and yet she felt flooded with information... overwhelmed by the speed, clarity, and emotional impact of the scene passing her by:

Rain falling in the koi pond

Ranma, alone and injured

Hidden depths revealed

A sad smile

Real concern for false tears

"Welcome to my life..."

Ranma continued after what seemed like an eternity. "Believe me, I sure don't want ta die. There just isn't any other answer as long as this mess is still goin' on. I'm making my stand tonight... this situation ends by dawn, one way or the other."

Nabiki clutched her stomach in sudden pain as her guts cramped. The night in her memories she made a promise to him, even if he didn't hear it, that she would make things better. That she would stop being part of his problem. That she would look out for him, and help him find a safe course. That she would give him back his life.

She failed him.

**Author's Notes:**

For those trying to keep track of the story chronologically, as of the morning of Ranma's potential seppuku exactly two weeks have passed since the conclusion of the Saffron incident.

The scene of Ranma's return to Nerima is a bit overly description-packed, I acknowledge, but this is purposeful. Specifically, some may have noticed an implied motif in the descriptions of the four dark strangers... one very thin (Shinosuke: Famine), one suffering disease (his grandfather: Pestilence), one dressed in military gear (Ryu: War), and the last described more as a specter than a real person (Ranma: Death). I know it might seem a bit trite to call upon biblical images to describe intimidating figures, but by evoking these allusions I hoped to hint that the perceived threat here is spiritual rather than physical.

This was originally planned to be the last part of act 3, but the plotting scheme just kept getting longer to the point where it really needed to be cut off. Sorry about the cliffhanger... I guess. I'll try to hurry with the next chapter.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #1 (recently promoted!)

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	9. Shuffling the Deck of Fate: Act 3, pt 4

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
**A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 3: Shuffling the Deck of Fate  
**Part 4

**Pre-readers:**  
Kpjam  
Aondehafka

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

Ranma returned victorious (and somewhat worse for wear), from his quest for the moss of life, though Nerima had changed subtly in his absence. He first encountered Ukyo in a state of undress disposing of an even less covered Mousse. Rather than investigate further on his assumptions, he chose simply to give the couple their shares of the moss as well as instructions to care for their associates.

His next stop was the Tendo home, still showing signs of his previous week's adventures. He avoided the majority of the residents in favor of seeing Nabiki, whose services he needed to distribute the moss and to gather the appropriate people for a meeting at his home. After moments of romance, pain, lies, and childhood revelations, he finally left, hoping that Nabiki's affectionate teasing was only a joke.

Finally, he arrived at his home, where Genma was trying to make sense of the three houseguests Ranma brought to Nerima: Shinosuke and his grandfather, as well as Kumon Ryu who was revealed as Ranma's cousin on his father's side. After resolving several separate arguments, one with the help of his recently acquired grandmaster status, Ranma finally went to bed. That evening a gathering was held in the Saotome home for all the fiancées, most of their family members, and even some assorted rivals. The topic of discussion was Ranma's declaration that in his view the burden of choice fell on the girls rather than himself and that if they didn't resolve the dispute by dawn he would end it on his own, through seppuku. The situation was somewhat simplified however by the Kunos' final acceptance that Ranma was indeed cursed, leading to their rapid departure.

**

* * *

**

A veritable wall of sound, composed of a variety of tones and pitches, accosted his senses at maximum volume from every direction. It represented a selection of sounds and utterances, long and short, angry and distressed, booming and begging... all aimed at achieving a single purpose: thwarting his attempt to break free or die trying. "Not this time..." he whispered to himself, "I won't let you stall this out any longer. We're facing up to this now."

Apparently his soft response, not intended for the crowd's ears, managed to quiet them with curiosity where a shout probably would have failed. One voice, a voice he had long ago learned to ignore, continued unabated. "Are you completely out of your mind, Boy?" Genma demanded.

"Not at all, Pop," Ranma replied, keeping his tone fairly low. "I think I'm just finally putting it ta work is all."

"There is no way this will work, idiot! Certainly not with these two fanatics," Akane gestured towards Ukyo and Shampoo, earning a low growl from the Amazon. "Just take back this stupid pledge of yours and I'm sure we can all just forget about it. Act like it never happened."

"I ain't gonna do that," Ranma snapped. "Look, it seems to me that everyone in this room thinks they know better than me how I should live my life... tonight a few of ya get a chance to prove it."

"Oh that's so you, Ranma," sneered the previously quiet Ryoga, "trying to make Akane the scapegoat for your own shortcomings... I won't stand for it!"

"Fine," the formerly pigtailed youth said uncaringly. "Door's that way, pal. Feel free to leave anytime you want. In fact, who invited you here anyway?"

"That would be you, Ranma," Nabiki answered without looking up as she continued scribbling furiously in a small notebook.

Ryoga grinned.

"That doesn't matter anyhow. The point is that you just got out of the hospital. Happosai didn't." Ryoga's grin faded as Ranma continued. "Heck, half the people in this room were injured in some way last week, and alla' that is my fault. But it's not just me. It's this situation, this damned mess of honor, love, and jealousy we're all caught up in. If it wasn't for all this I wouldn't have lost my control... and we'd all be better off. Even you, Ryoga."

"But is no good Airen do too too rash thing," Shampoo chimed in. "Ask more than can be done in night, maybe ever!"

"Give him a chance, Shampoo," Mousse interrupted, giving the girl reason to stare incredulously at him. "If Ranma's serious enough about this to put his life on the line then I say we owe it to him to give it an honest try. At least he's finally trying to fix things, after all."

"Ya know, as things stand I wish I never went on that training trip in the first place," Ranma sighed, nodding at the unexpectedly helpful Mousse. "All of ya probably would have been better off if I never came and screwed up your lives. Heck, maybe I could have been happier myself if I was just another normal kid."

"But we can't go back, Ranma," Ukyo said in a near whisper, finally finding her voice. "Good or bad, this is where we are.  
All we can do is try to forgive each other for our stupid mistakes, maybe find a way to work things out if we just take the time."

"That's all I've done since this mess began, just waited for things to sort themselves out and tried to keep things under control. Can't you see that it's not working, that in fact it's just getting worse every day?" he asked apologetically. "How many people have to die before it gets resolved? If I have anything to say about it, just one more: me."

"No one has to die, Boy... just pick Akane once and for all like we all know you want to and get it over with," Genma added. "Stop being so damned sanctimonious and end these other girl's pain. Enough of the drama already."

Ranma answered the charge with an accusational glare and a low, throaty growl. Genma flinched.

"Anyway," Ranma continued, "the time for talking ta me about all this is long past. Now the girls need to get together and start talking about the here and now, unless of course they really do want me dead. Why don't the three of you go on upstairs to my room, away from all these distractions."

"I think I'll join them," Nabiki added, rising to her feet.

"No, you no sway us talking," Shampoo complained.

"You said yourself that this is pushing the impossible as it is, Shampoo," she answered. "Don't you think this would go a little smoother with a moderator to keep the discussion from just completely locking up?"

"Moderators are supposed to be without bias though," Ukyo chimed in. "That hardly qualifies you."

"What, you want me to lie?" Nabiki snapped. "Of course I'd prefer my sister come out of this happy... but I know it's fair to say that she'd be happier with him alive than dead if it came down to it. I promise I won't get in the way if the three of you end up picking someone other than Akane."

"Shampoo agree... but also promise throw you out on butt if not fair."

"Whatever," Ukyo sighed. "Let's just get this started already."

Ranma watched the girls take their leave from the room before continuing. "Well, that's the end of the announcements for the evening. Feel free to leave or stay, as you wish. I'm going to go outside for a bit and get a little air. If anyone has anything else to say that doesn't involve undermining this decision... I'd welcome your company."

**

* * *

**

Age is an excellent teacher of the virtue of patience. Good thing, considering the time it was taking Ryoga to finish his conversation with Ranma. Still, even she had her limits, and this was an important matter.

"...so you've gotta tell her, man," Ranma insisted. "If you can do that I'll give ya my full blessings. Depending on how things work out, of course."

"Well, maybe you aren't the jerk I thought you were," Ryoga replied. "Thanks, Pal."

Cologne seized the opportunity to break in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, young man, but I've something to discuss with Son-in-law here that might not be able wait."

"I was wondering why you were so quiet earlier. Have a seat," Ranma replied, staying carefully neutral. "You aren't here to try and dissuade me, are you?"

"No, though I do believe this to be the stupidest action I've yet witnessed, youngling. If it weren't for current circumstances I'd be much freer to save you from this foolishness, but unfortunately for you that's not the case."

"Glad we got that cleared up," Ranma smirked.

She ignored his sarcasm; there were more important matters at hand. "I've been trying to put something of a puzzle together, and I think you might be holding several of the pieces. Tell me, how exactly did you manage to defeat the God-king of the Phoenix Tribe?"

"Barely," he smirked, though she sobered him with a displeased glance. "We were battling in midair, mostly using these magic staves with powers based on fire n ice. I scored a couple a hits but nothing I did seemed to keep him down. Even chopped off his wings, but he just grew em right back."

"That would be in keeping with what I know of him, yes," she replied, trying to stay neutral as well. It wouldn't do to have the boy learn that before the last few days she hadn't believed such a creature even existed... The Amazons' traditionally oral history tended more towards exaggeration than fact sometimes.

"I had him easily beat in skill and conditioning, but it didn't amount ta much when I had to keep dodging blasts that blew holes through the mountain. That's where he made his mistake though," Ranma smirked, "kinda the same as Herb; he filled the whole area with so much lingering heat that I was able ta blast him with a massive Hiryu Shoten Ha, charging it through the ice staff to make it extra cold. Guess I owe ya for teaching me the technique, actually."

Cologne smiled slightly. "Nonsense, son-in-law. I'm pleased you put my teachings to such creative use. Still that doesn't explain everything Mousse told me... how did you manage to overpower the phoenix's blast with a -downwards- moving Hiryu Shoten Ha? Why did he appear to be cut to ribbons when your attack struck?"

"Um, yeah. about that," Ranma fidgeted, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, the answer to the first is partially Akane... she was immune to his blasts because of her condition, and she somehow managed ta physically punch a hole through it so I could see him. I think she just fell outta my shirt and I got lucky, but it was really strange how she felt hot allova sudden... well, your guess is probably better than mine on that count."

"Fascinating," the elder replied.

"As ta the rest, right at the end I found a reserve of strength I didn't know I had and really poured it all into one shot. Then I sorta tweaked the technique with a special attack pop invented... I'd tell you more but it's kinda a family secret."

"Oh no, not entirely secret my boy," she cackled. "If my guess is right you demonstrated the technique to me shortly after I arrived in Nerima. You probably don't remember, though, seeing as how you weren't exactly yourself at the time."

"What?" he asked, apparently playing innocent.

"The nekoken, Ranma. I told you at the time that I'd seen it before. What I didn't tell you is that I'd never seen it with claws like yours... in fact I've never seen the like anywhere else. It gave me quiet a start when I realized you were somehow channeling raw ki, so much so that I realized I might not be able to beat you without killing you."

"Huh? But I didn't learn the technique till almost eight months ago."

"Perhaps you simply didn't learn to consciously control it until then. Regardless, I realized that day that you were quite a special find indeed, a natural spiritual adept. The ease with which you've discovered new techniques since then only goes to prove it," Cologne explained, before suddenly becoming rather morose. "... at least I thought that was it until recently."

"And why the change?"

"Partially because I saw you change, lad," she replied cryptically. "Tell me, how long has your curse been acting... unusual?"

Ranma paused for a moment before answering. "Well, I first noticed it the day after the fight in the gym. I tried ta change back into a guy but it was different... seemed ta take longer than normal, like it was fighting somethin'. Hurt like hell, too. It's been getting worse since then, but if I know I'm gonna change I can handle it."

"Very troubling, especially combined with your outburst at the school," she confided. "I must admit I'm surprised anyone survived the outpouring of yin you unleashed there, son-in-law. I'm even more surprised it affected only our chi rather than dissolving us completely."

"Good thing I woke up from that damn dream then," Ranma stated without humor. "I realized something was really wrong and just kinda forced it all up, burned the reaction out before it could finish I guess."

"Dream?"

"Yeah," he replied, looking away. "I was having these stupid recurring nightmares ever since Jusendo... there's this pale guy in a dark robe who keeps talking about teaching me and my destiny and stuff. Weird, huh? Last time I had it I decked him though, and I haven't had the dream since."

She stumbled back slightly as images ran through her mind, dark illustrations and nervously written notes from a tome she'd not dared to consult in ages. This could be much, much worse than she originally thought. "This... man. Describe him for me, Ranma. I need details."

"Well, it's kinda hard to remember... haven't had the dream for a few days now," Ranma stated with puzzlement. "I remember he was really pale and thin, like a corpse almost. He was wearing this dark robe, but I can't be sure what color it was... it kept changing. His eyes were the worst... he didn't really have any, just these spots of flame. Oh, and once he actually had a name: Narou Mizumei, I think. Pretty screwed up dream, huh?"

"By the gods..." she whispered, fearfully. "I'll be back soon, Son-in... Ranma. Until then try to avoid changing, or any use of chi, or even sleeping for that matter."

"Yeah, fine, whatever," he replied as she left, looking up towards the window of his room, "assuming it will matter tomorrow anyway."

**

* * *

**

"I just don't see where we can even begin to make any compromises," Akane admitted with exasperation. They'd been arguing for over three hours now, stating repeatedly the basis for their claims and why each thought hers was, of course, the strongest. "What could we possibly say at this point that would change the way we feel or that we don't know already?"

"I don't know, but we've got to keep trying. There must be some way to make sense of all of this." Nabiki sighed, flipping back once again to the beginning of her notes for the evening.

"We should just march right back down there and make Ranma say who he wants," Akane replied scornfully. "Otherwise we're just going to keep voting for ourselves all night long."

"Shampoo agree. Is no good idea this thing. It no fix anything."

"Well, we could make a rule that you have to vote for someone besides yourself," Ukyo offered.

"Oh hell no," Akane replied heatedly. "If we did that it would be even more of a simple popularity contest that the first vote was!"

"Look," Nabiki tiredly replied. "We've been over this already. Ranma clearly doesn't feel capable of making a choice, either because of his honor or for emotional reasons. He honestly doesn't seem to know what he feels beyond a general attraction and general friendliness towards all of you. Trust me on this... he told me so after the wedding, and I told this all to Ukyo earlier."

"But he must have -some- preference," the younger Tendo complained. "It just isn't possible for us all to be completely balanced, what with how different we are and everything." "And how differently we treat him..." Ukyo added.

"What the hell do you know, anyway?" Akane snapped. "It's not like you've suggested anything constructive. Heck, you've barely said a word all night!"

"I stopped talking when I realized it was all pointless," the chef whispered in reply.

"Hey, if you're ready to quit then just give your vote to one of us and get it over with," the most vocal girl snapped.

"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you, Sugar. Like I'd ever leave Ranchan to live out his days with your senseless beatings or under her institutionalized slavery."

"Amazons no keep slaves!"

"Yeah, sure... Mousse sure seems free to do whatever he pleases," Ukyo replied, but turned away afterwards with a grimace.

"Girls, really," Nabiki interjected. "If you start arguing again we'll just end up wasting even more time. Let's try to keep a little focus here, okay? How about if we go back to taking turns speaking again?"

Akane stood up and stretched, ignoring the others bickering. She just didn't have the strength left for a good argument anymore. "This would be so much easier if we just had some hint of how he feels. Why couldn't he do something sensible like writing a diary or something?"

"Because if he had, I would have known about it," Nabiki admitted ruefully. "And Ranma wasn't stupid enough to think I wouldn't have read every page, and given half the chance the rest of you would have done the same. Besides, it wouldn't prove anything anyway... like I said."

"This stupid room," Akane complained, kicking his rolled futon out of the way. "There's nothing in it that has any personality at all, nothing that even remotely says who lives here, much less what he really wants. Not one picture, or keepsake, or note, or anything."

"What Violent Girl expect, big light-up sign say he love Shampoo?" said girl asked sarcastically. "He just move in, no time make comfortable yet."

"Seriously though, the only difference between this room and the one he used to sleep in is that his father doesn't share it with him," Nabiki pointed out. "Well, it's a little cleaner and there are fewer dresses in the closet, but besides that, nothing. Ranma's quite the minimalist."

"Minimalist, hell," Ukyo snapped. "He never had the money to buy anything with, on account of you."

"Yes, let's all yell at the one person in the room who really has nothing to do with the important task at hand," Nabiki mocked.

Ukyo said nothing, choosing rather to growl and turn away.

Shampoo likewise suddenly found Ranma's backpack, already thoroughly searched twice over for any hints whatsoever, more engaging than the conversation.

"Maybe we should take a break for a bit, get some fresh air and cool down a little," Nabiki suggested. "It certainly wouldn't be any worse than stewing in silence here."

Akane glared at her opponents with open disgust as they sauntered out. If they would just stop being so annoyingly persistent they'd be able to admit that Ranma clearly cared more for her than them. She was the one he almost married, the one he stayed with, and the one he went to the greatest lengths to save.Heck, Ranma's family even backed her claim. It was the obvious choice. Why were they so completely unable to see it from her side?

Did they really hate her so much that they would just let Ranma die rather than admitting that she was the only valid option?

**

* * *

**

It was that time of night when time no longer seemed to matter, that great expanse between evening and dawn when the waking world shut down and a person could finally feel alone even in a city of millions. Rarely did Xian Pu find the occasion to experience the peculiar silence of the city at night, the strange barrenness of this concrete and steel landscape when the hustle and bustle cooled. Training and work kept her on a regular schedule, but those times when she could afford to stay up she loved to marvel at this stillness, a dark stasis that made her own home at night seem cacophonous by comparison.

She sighed and took another sip of the strong western coffee hr airen's mother had thoughtfully provided, enjoying the contrast between its heat and the air's cool, as well as the tingling sensation the drink gave her nerves. A faint horn blew in the distance, accompanied by the deliberate thrum of a passing late commuter train, reminding her that there was always someone else awake somewhere in this land.

This was the third such break the girls had taken for the night, called by Nabiki on account of her sister's irrational declaration that they should just have a fight to resolve the issue. Well, actually it was her refusal to back down from the idea when the others balked that caused the communication to stall again.

Xian Pu wasn't stupid enough to accept such an idea. Certainly she felt confident in her ability to defeat either girl under normal conditions, but this situation was far from normal and in this case her skill would be a detriment; it might give them reason to work together. Ukyo was a challenging opponent, but with the help of the usually negligible Akane (who already clearly preferred the chef's company to hers) she doubted if she could keep the upper hand.

"Why do they hate me so much?" she wondered, not for the first time, as she rubbed her tired eyes. It wasn't just the situation, strained though it was, nor was it plain jealousy of her physical and martial superiority. It wasn't even restricted to just the rivals... some potential allies like Ryoga held a general condescending opinion of her for no good reason, too.

Truth be told, most people in the city had the same look towards her; an attitude of smug superiority and an automatic distrust of her at first glance. The Japanese mindset seemed based, from her perspective, on a deeply held belief that they were just inherently better then everyone else.

Since arriving here nearly two years ago she still had not made a single friend to just talk to and spend time with outside of Mu-Mu' and Great Grandmother (who were both frankly useless in this regard) ...and of course Ranma. Mu Tsu thought Ranma was just as blatantly racist as just about everyone else, as he had tried to convince her several times. The poor male seemed unable to realize that it wasn't personal, that Ranma acted that smug towards -all- of his opponents as a means to break their focus. Elder Ku Lon had just the opposite problem... she was too biased in favor of Amazon culture to understand why Shampoo was even concerned by the Japanese feeling likewise.

Ranma didn't much care for the rules of her society (not that she took it personally, as he didn't seem too keen on -any- rules), but he was still generally accepting of her opinions as not fundamentally less valid than any other person's. Perhaps it was his travels outside the country that allowed him a more accepting view, a more worldly perspective on social differences. Ranma's accepting and forgiving nature, especially when compared to the rest of his society, was one of the major points of attraction she held for the boy.

Well... the non-physical ones, anyway.

Of course, this trait wasn't entirely unique. Her newest Airen had, as far as she could so far tell, a similarly open perspective that was especially striking given his heartfelt adoption of traditional Japanese culture. Perhaps his studies of cultures outside his own had a similar effect to Ranma's travels? The boy was foolish and vain, even more so than Ranma, but perhaps in a charming way.

No, she shook her head clear of such thoughts. She knew hardly anything about Tatewaki, barely an acquaintance in her time here. It was so utterly unfair that she was bound to him at such a crucial moment, tying her hands in the discussion at hand. Giving up on Ranma for his own sake was essentially the same as agreeing to marry the other young man, but winning the competition meant she still wasn't assured of ending up with him. Fate was just so cruel!

A sudden shift broke her reverie, drawing her attention down to the yard below, long since abandoned by Ranma's visitors. Where before was only stillness, she now felt a presence... somewhere down below, unseen. She sharpened her vision, scanning the grounds with a concentration towards the trees in the far corner. Any interlopers would be personally dealt with. The slight feeling moved again, out of the trees into the middle of the yard, but still she saw nothing. She was almost convinced it was just her imagination when suddenly the air blurred as if heated, folding back upon itself to reveal the strange young man from earlier, whom Ranma asked to leave. She prepared to jump down and meet the trespasser when he collapsed to his knees, drenched in sweat and breathing rapidly as if exhausted.

"Geez, Ranma," he asked between grasping breaths, "How do you... keep it up... so long?"

"You must be out of practice, I guess," her beloved's voice answered before he appeared, again as if from nowhere, next to the man. He was topless and his skin also glistened with sweat in the moonlight. "The other versions of the technique aren't nearly as much fun, but if you want I can try to demonstrate them for you too."

"Won't your dad be pissed when he finds out about this?" asked the camouflaged youth.

"Ah, why would he care as long as we're discrete? It's still in the family..." Ranma's voice trailed off. He turned his face upwards to stare right at her. Shampoo nervously waved back, unsure of the situation.

He leapt casually up to perch on the railing beside her. "Look, can I trust you to keep whatever you saw a secret? I'm trying to take care of some private business... family only kinda stuff. Understand?"

Shampoo, asked, hesitantly, "Ranma... was no doing sex with other boy, right? Just misunderstand, yes?"

"What?" he squawked, nearly falling off the balcony. "Of course I wasn't!"

"Whew, Shampoo sorry ask," she replied sheepishly. "Airen have habit of say wrong things, very bad luck. Shampoo no really think that, just check."

"Look, I was just taking care of a debt of honor," he explained with frustration. "It's nothing like that, but it is something I'd prefer to keep secret."

"Shampoo understand. Airen make sure all things okay if worst happen. Is good thing, even if no need," the Amazon replied.

"Anyway, shouldn't you be inside talking with the others, Shampoo?" he asked, neutrally.

"No, Money-Girl say take break after stupid Akane idea." She explained.

"Great," Ranma sighed.

"Airen no worry. Shampoo try extra hard convince them, be safe soon!"

"Oh, I'm sure if there is a solution you girls will find it," he replied with false confidence. "Well, looks like the others are getting together in there, so you better get going. Oh, could you send Nabiki outside for a sec, downstairs I mean? I got something to take care of with her too, just in case."

"Airen no sex Nabiki!" she complained with an exaggerated pout, causing his eyes to go wide. "Was joke! Airen too, too easy upset." She went back in with a much better mood, leaving her soon-to-be-husband grumbling.

**

* * *

**

Dawn was only a few hours away now. She could feel it deep in the pit of her stomach, a dull throbbing ache that would only grow worse as the time passed. The clock calmly stated it was exactly 3:48, but that was unimportant. What was important was that this was probably the last hour of Ranma's life.

The conversation died some time ago. Shampoo came back in with a wide smile, which of course set off Mt. Akane' on yet another tirade, leading to an argument, leading to yet another period of angry silence. Or, in Ukyo's own case, contemplative silence.

Nabiki didn't get the memo, apparently. She had been thinking aloud and scribbling in her notes this whole time, trying to find some sort of compromise that everyone would accept. It was a little disconcerting, really, to see her arguing all three sides of the case on her own. Then again she had to, considering nobody else seemed to have anything left to say besides the occasional one or two word answer.

"Look, it's really simple," Nabiki sighed, attempting to explain her latest angle. "Since there's only three if you all it takes to save Ranma's life is for one of you to vote for someone besides yourself. That way he lives and you'll be the one he thanks for it. By dropping out you can make sure that Ranma ends up at least with the person you think is second best for him. Heck, if you're so damn angry then think of it as a way to make sure that someone else will never get him."

The others didn't seem to be even listening anymore. Of course she had tuned out quite a few of Nabiki's ideas before this one, so Ukyo couldn't say too much.

"Look at the alternatives then!" Nabiki continued, angry. "If none of you backs out then you all lose, and Ranma dies. There's nothing to gain by being stubborn!"

Oh, but there was. Ukyo realized some time ago that the only way to really win this contest of wills was to stay in and hope that one of the others chose her... and that's why she was doing her best not to do anything to bother them. Now all she had to do was wait out their little staring contest and reap the rewards.

That something throbbed deep in her guts again, hot and unpleasant. The truth was that she was gambling his life on the hopes that she would come out on top. She knew, unequivocally, that was she was doing was selfish and callous, but for some reason she just couldn't seem to care enough to stop. She wanted to feel sad, to pity Ranma for this burden, to rage against the situation that made him feel this way... but could only do so in a superficial way.

She did want to marry the boy, really. Since she was a little girl it was all she wanted, all that drove her was the idea of being Mrs. Saotome Ukyo. All the things she did, even when she no longer considered herself a she, were for him. Even the worst of it, the humiliating and depraved things she had done to try to kill the remnants of her abandoned femininity... all of it was always because of her love.

Why then was she trying to convince herself?

The answer, though Ukyo was loathe to admit it, was that there was a part of her that didn't want to let go of her darker times. This aspect of her personality felt that she would have been better off without him, wished he'd stayed wherever he ran off to rather than coming back yesterday. He owed her for lost time, for all the hurts she suffered on his behalf then and now. Even if the initial mistake wasn't his (and she had nothing to go on for this but his own word, after all), the fact that he hadn't rectified the situation immediately upon finding out galled her. Every ill that had befallen her in Nerima, including her recent mistake with Mousse, was at least indirectly Ranma's fault. What was this seppuku stunt, really, but another escape attempt from their engagement... this time into realms where she dare not follow?

Oh, but she was getting far too worked up, she realized. She had to keep her cool, not attract attention to herself until the proper moment. Momentary vengeance was less preferable to a lifetime of winning, after all.

Luckily her inner turmoil went unnoticed, as Akane and Shampoo were arguing again for some reason. Ukyo quickly looked away to keep the hint of a smile from showing. It was turning out to be a win/win situation for her; Regardless of the outcome she could finally go home with her honor intact and the shadows of her misspent youth dead and buried. Of course she preferred to win... but if it came to the worst she could get over him, in time.

**

* * *

**

She had never been one for mornings, like Kasumi. Sure, she understood at least indirectly that feeling the first rays of dawn was like "a warm kiss from the world" and that waking at that time "promoted harmony with the natural world." Her personal experiences though had always been more along the lines of "fiery daggers of eye-seeking vengeance" and "wasted time better spent dreaming." In the personal world Tendo Nabiki inhabited sunrise was an enemy to be feared, the harbinger of yet another pointless day in Nerima.

The dawn was nearly here. She could feel it somehow; a certain tightness in her shoulders and a slight tremor down her spine offering clues from her subconscious that the rational part of herself could not explain, but trusted nonetheless. It was, after all, a carefully groomed defense mechanism against the horrors of wakefulness.

Nobody ever died in her dreams. Not since she learned how to control them, anyway.

But this was no dream, no nightmare to be contained. Try though she might, the situation had progressed despite all her attempts to control it. Ukyo had long ago shut down, withdrawn completely from the discussion, and without her as a balancing factor the other two fianc‚es' had found a focus for their frustrations in each other. It was a stalemate, and in this game that was the only real way she could lose.

She'd tried every angle she could think of to seek a compromise, every scheme and ploy at her disposal to get the girls to just drop all their pride and anger so Ranma could live. She'd even pressed on after Ranma talked with her, trying to settle his affairs as if he'd already resigned himself to hopelessness. She'd given the situation her all, but it just wasn't enough.

Nabiki slowly rose to her feet without a word. Ukyo glanced up, but quickly turned away again. The others were too intent on staring balefully at one another to pay her any mind.

She wandered out onto the balcony, content for a moment just to close her eyes and deeply inhale the fresh, crisp air. Opening them brought the sight of the eastern sky alight with a much brighter shade of blue than the deep indigo the other directions offered. The distant clouds glowed from below with a faint orange light.

She turned away from the reminder, finding instead the sight of Ranma sitting alone on the lower roof over the kitchen, facing his oncoming fate. He didn't seem to notice her, being intently focused with tightly furrowed brows on the piece of paper before him. Writing the traditional final haiku, no doubt, and probably struggling with his calligraphy. With a grumble he wadded up the paper and tossed it to the ground, where it joined several other rejected attempts.

She smiled at the sight, finding a curious pleasure in it. Ranma was always so hopeless whenever he tried something new, so given to displays of frustration that she secretly found cute in their special childlike way. More charming, however infuriating it might occasionally be when directed at her own schemes, was the willful stubbornness that he drew upon whenever these situations arose, an all-consuming devotion to victory at any cost. That quality, more than any degree of skill, guile, or luck the young man possessed, was the chief reason that Saotome Ranma never lost when it really counted.

Then his face was struck by the first rays of dawn and his eyes closed in resignation.

"It couldn't be happening," her mind whirled. "Ranma never loses, never gives up. It's who he is, the very essence of his being!"

The young man quietly gathered up his things and leapt down to the back yard where an area had been prepared earlier in the night.

"I just have to wake up, that's all. It's dawn and the nightmares are trying to get me but I can make them go away or escape them like I always do. Ranma can't die in my dreams."

He took his seat on a white cushion and turned his focus one last time on a piece of paper. This time his face remained relaxed, his hand steady and his brush strokes even.

"What more can I do? What more can I sacrifice?"

His mother approached with an official gait, carrying two objects. The first she laid before him. The second she began to unwrap.

Nabiki's mind raced in every direction, drawing in random snippets of information that helped the problem at hand not a bit. There had to be something she'd missed, some angle she'd failed to exploit. Something, anything...

And all at once it hit her; something at the time so insane and forgettable that she'd instantly dismissed it. Though it still made no sense to her, Nabiki was inexplicably drawn to yell a single word at the top of her lungs:

"Pantyhose!"

The exclamation had a result comparable to a gunshot against the early morning stillness. All eyes in the yard snapped to her with looks of bewilderment. The panda wandered outside and joined his family in confusion. A neighbor thrust her head from the safety of her home to glance about angrily. Its nonsequitor might was even enough to shock the deadlocked participants to come outside and see what she was yelling about. She had no answer to give to their questioning glances, but the knot of improbability at Nerima's heart refused to let this perfect opportunity slide. As if on cue, the beast-that-should-not-be descended on the yard with an angry bellow.

"I guess we'd better go help Ranma," one of her balcony mates reflexively sighed.

Nabiki found her fire again, wheeling on the girls before they wasted this final opportunity. "You want to help him? Then all of you go back inside and make use of the time this distraction just gave you!"

"But..."

"But nothing! Get back in there right now or I'll make each and every one of you suffer for the rest of your lives!"

"Nabiki?" Akane cautiously inquired.

"Go. Talk. Now," she growled in response.

Nabiki had no idea how she would accomplish such a threat, but luckily the girls didn't call her bluff. They went back grudgingly to their chosen spaces in Ranma's room and once again opened the lines of communication. Unfortunately the participants and facts of the debate had changed not a note. This resulted almost immediately in another argument between Akane and Shampoo, while Ukyo acted, ineffectually, as a peacemaker.

Something broke in Nabiki, something that had remained solid and dependable through all kinds of tribulations but could not withstand the frustration any longer. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she screamed at the others, pointing at each girl in return.

"Money-girl say talk... Why no make up mind?"

"I know what I said but this isn't getting us anywhere. Just shut up and let me think," she snapped. "There must be a way to solve this..."

"God, let's just vote again or something," Ukyo sighed.

"Tried that already... you all just voted for yourselves, remember?" Nabiki answered.

"What if we made it a rule," Akane haltingly suggested, "that you had to vote... for someone else?"

Nabiki looked up hopefully. "I thought you hated that idea when we first brought it up, sis..." and why the hell was Ukyo smiling?

The votes were made on paper, each girl carefully hiding the results from the others as Nabiki checked each one.

Ukyo voted for Shampoo.  
Akane voted for Ukyo.  
Shampoo voted for Akane.

"What the hell, Shampoo!" the miffed chef demanded. "You two spent the whole damned night at each others throats? How could you vote for her?"

"You can't start arguing again," Nabiki pleaded. "There's no time for this crap!" If only there was some way to take the pressure off, to take the competition angle out of the problem...

"Shampoo no like Violent-Girl, but at least she fighter. Amazons no like quitters."

Quitters? "That's it..." Nabiki whispered.

"What, you turned on me just because I wouldn't take part in your little time wasting fight?" Ukyo spat, regaining her feet. "If you want to see a real fighter then bring it, jackass!"

"Stop, both of you! I've got the answer: You should all just quit!"

"Yeah, quit with the posturing, already," Akane added. "Let's see what she's got in mind while we still have time to make it matter."

"I just told you the idea. Quit."

"Sugar, there's no way in hell we're just gonna step aside and let your sister have him because you say so."

"No, listen," Nabiki tried again. "I mean all of you should quit. If you all agree to drop your claims then the problem evaporates and Ranma can live."

"And where does that leave us?" Akane demanded.

"It leaves you exactly where you were yesterday, minus Kodachi and all the pressure of the engagements. I'm not saying you have to stop pursuing Ranma, just that you drop the official bonds."

"That no solve anything!" Shampoo complained.

"Wrong, it solves the problem immediately at hand. Nobody can win if the prize is dead, after all." The room fell silent for a moment as the finality of the problem sunk in.

"I'm in," Akane stated, first to respond. "It's really all we've got."

"Typical, Sugar," Ukyo snidely commented. "You've spent the last two years screaming that you didn't want to be engaged anyway, so it's no loss to you. Of course, it helps that you're also right this time... I'm in, but only if Shampoo is too."

"Shampoo... no can agree," the Amazon replied, averting her eyes.

"Damn it Shampoo!" Akane grabbed the girl's shoulder and spun her around.

"Is law problem... Shampoo can no quit right now."

Ukyo snorted. "You mean your Kuno problem, right?"

"Stupid Mousse," the girl mumbled, "Need learn to keep mouth shut. Shampoo teach him too too good when get home."

"If she quits on Ranma then she has to marry Kuno," Ukyo explained for the others. "Apparently he somehow beat her, and until Ranma and Kuno settle things the law is up in the air for her. Hence the match last week."

"Glad I'm not an Amazon..." Akane added, earning a glare from her sister.

Nabiki honestly felt sorry for the girl, but there was too much at stake to let that sway her now. Besides, it was her own dumb laws to blame; the same ones that had made her a constant thorn in Ranma's side for quite a while now.

"Let's examine it, then: If you quit, you have to marry Kuno. If you don't quit then Ranma dies because we've obviously got nothing else to try. If Ranma dies, what happens to you and Kuno?"

"He be only Airen then," Shampoo sniffed, sadly, "and Shampoo must accept him at least until have first child."

"So either way you end up with Kuno, really, and you still have a way out after a while," Nabiki summarized. "That doesn't matter at all then. The question is just whether you want Ranma to live or die today."

"Please, Shampoo," Akane begged.

Ukyo took the girl's other shoulder in a comforting posture. "It's the only thing you can do, Sugar."

"Shampoo..." she began, then choked on a sob. "Shampoo agree."

**

* * *

**

It's funny how sometimes things just all fall into place at the same time, despite thousands of attempts beforehand to accomplish just the same goal. Perhaps there is some sort of divine schedule to which all important events must align, regardless of the intents of frustrated humans to speed things along. A time for all things, as it were.

Ranma didn't find his current situation funny. Not at all. In fact, it rather pissed him off.

He'd been trying for over an hour to come up with some sort of lasting message to leave behind, something profound and beautiful to serve as his final summation on the experience of living. For a while he experimented with various themes of natural occurrences, trying to create some eloquent metaphor for his valiant struggles. Then he tried to capture some moment of particular wisdom in eloquent verse. Towards the end he was desperate enough to abandon any attempt at good writing and just fit in some touching personal message to his loved ones. Of course, none of these efforts worked out.

When the sun struck his face he sighed and went down to meet his fate with all the boldness he could muster. He really didn't want to die yet, but it seemed his clever plan had failed... not that he had ever had that great a record with such schemes, he admitted. He had been so sure at least one of them would pass his test that he never really gave a serious thought to failure until he talked with Nabiki and learned how selfishly his fiancée's arguments had developed.

Taking a seat in the prepared area for his death, Ranma once again lifted his brush. Out of time, he simply wrote about the first thing that came to mind: blame.

My test has ended:  
If love is just a trophy,  
Then I prefer death.

It wasn't a very good way to go, he knew, with such a sour goodbye. It certainly wasn't like the Saotome Ranma people would remember, but then the cheerful young man they knew hadn't been sentenced to death by the uncaring whims of others. "Well to hell with them," he decided. "It's my seppuku and I'll bitch if I want to."

Unless of course his whining was derailed by a completely out-of-the-blue interruption, like someone (who should have been inside doing her damned job...) screaming "Pantyhose!" for no particular reason. Well, okay, so maybe she was just trying to warn him that one of his less frequent annoyances was dropping by for a visit. It still didn't explain why Nabiki, or the rest of the girls for that matter, hadn't at least come down to see him off. Downright rude in fact.

"Somethin' ya need, Pantyhose?" he asked, dropping the brush to the side and cocking his head. "Better make it quick; I don't have much time."

The beast stepped forward threateningly, then doused itself with presumably hot water from one of two flasks tied to its waist with its namesake fabric. Where the rest of his clothing came from was a question Ranma chose not ponder. "Kodachi asked me to come here and kick your butt, Fem-boy," he smirked. "How could I refuse such a request? Get up already."

"I'm kinda busy at the moment," Ranma gestured to his katana-wielding mother, "What with killing myself and all. Think we can put this one off until my next life?"

"I made a promise, Hermaphrodite. You remember what those are, don't you?" The foreign young man goaded. "Guess I could just desecrate your corpse a bit, but that's kinda beneath me."

"You know, it occurs to me that we've never actually had a one-on-one fight before, Panty-ho," Ranma replied while taking off his shirt. "I think I'd regret dying without clearing that up first."

"Huh, huh. Your funeral either way." The stocking-clad man hopped back a few paces back before taking up a combat stance with a very high guard. "Bring it, bitch."

Ranma charged, leading off with a jumping right cross. His opponent pivoted to the side in response, fending off the blow with both forearms while striking with a quick knee. Ranma absorbed the impact with his thigh, but was pushed away when the blow became a thrusting kick.

Taro immediately hopped forward, kicking out at his prey with the same right leg. Ranma ducked the attack and rolled out of the way of the follow-up axeheel.

"I see you did more that just splash around in the springs since I last saw ya, Pantyhose. Take a trip through Thailand, perhaps?" Ranma asked with a knowing smile.

"No, but I did study a little Muy Thai under a pit fighter in Hong Kong. Don't want to become too dependant on the curse, at least for dealing with lightweights like you."

"Oh really? Try this on for size then, ya nylon nutjob!" Ranma charged in again, this time with a flying roundhouse. As expected, his foe countered with another lunging kick, which he twisted around with a strong motion from the waist. He landed in a crouch beneath the strike, and took the opportunity to punch the weight-bearing knee presented to him.

Taro bent the joint to avoid serious harm, falling towards Ranma with an elbow drop. The shirtless boy rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the strike. He managed to regain his footing almost immediately though, and took the opportunity to kick his target in the ribs as he righted himself.

"That feel like a lightweight did it, Panty-boy?" Ranma grinned, hoping lightly. This was exactly the kind of memory he wanted to leave behind; an exhilarating fight, not some silly string of words.

"Cheap shot, Saotome," Taro replied as he resumed his stance, his guard a bit lower this time. "Lucky for me you still kick like a little girl. Here, let me show you how a kick is supposed to feel!"

Pantyhose lunged as if to go for another straight-legged thrust, but instead merely hopped forward, continuing to twist as he landed to deliver a spinning heel kick to Ranma's side with the other leg, ending in a crouching position.

Ranma managed to block the attack with his arm tight against his side, but the impact still caused him to stumble a few steps sideways. He retaliated with a snap kick at his opponent's face that was easily deflected, but it served the purpose of keeping his foe defensive while he waited out the sudden numbness in his limb. There was a lot more force behind those kicks then he expected!

Fighting the urge to shake his arm, Ranma pressed in while his target was still slightly out of position. He unleashed a flurry of punches, forcing Taro to backpedal as he blocked and staying in close enough to prevent any more of those kicks from landing with any significant power.

The retreating combatant managed to reestablish some tempo by leaning away from one punch while throwing a knee at Ranma's crotch. The blow missed by a good margin, but the distraction broke Ranma's timing enough for Taro to halt his flight and throw a few quick jabs of his own.

Ranma slowed his attacks and blocks slightly, waiting for the right moment. At last his opponent launched a straight punch at his chin while his other arm was busy deflecting one of Ranma's off-hand strikes. Ranma deflected the strike from the outside while pivoting around the blow, then grabbed the outstretched arm with his left and stepped forward, delivering a crushing elbow to the bridge of his target's nose.

Hearing a distinctive crack, he released the held limb and ducked a wild swing from the other. As his target staggered back, wiping at the tears that such a blow reflexively caused, Ranma charged in low and delivered a salvo of Amaguriken punches to Taro's exposed gut. He finished the assault with a leg sweep as he dodged a feeble downward elbow attempt.

"Yuu furkin' hunt!" the wounded boy yelled as he rolled to his feet, holding his nose as it dripped a thick stream of blood. "I'll hill you fur thot!" His other hand shot to his belt, pulling free a second canister and holding it above his head.

"Cut him down now while you still can," that oh-so-familiar voice suggested. "Let loose on this beast to save the ones you care about"

No, he was going to win this fight legitimately and with as little special technique as possible. Sure it would be easy to let loose another vacuum blade and take of the idiot's head, but it would hardly be a fitting end to his career as a martial artist. He was going to win this fight, but not that way.

Ranma grinned darkly, then bolted forward while charging both hands with reddish-orange chi. He leapt upwards as he neared his opponent, traveling upwards fractionally slower than Taro gained height. He pivoted back to avoid a deadly swipe from the venom-barbed tentacles of his foe's newest form, pointing his hands towards the ground as he pivoted. With a blast of angry chi he gained tremendous speed just as the monster's transformation finished, landing a vicious double-knee blow to the base of the beast's unarmored chin. The hulking form was rocketed skywards, falling flatly on its back with a dull thud.

Ranma wasted no time leaping once again at the fallen titan, landing in a kneeling position on its armored chest. "Lights out, Pantyhose," he snarled in the bleary-eyed face of his opponent as he jabbed each of his hands into the ground astride his bovine head. Twin eruptions of rock and soil blasted the beast's head, leaving it finally to lull into unconsciousness.

**

* * *

**

Genma watched with pride as his son took his opponent apart piece by piece, just as he was taught; test your foe, counter his strengths, then press your advantage on to victory. Not that the young man looked like much of a challenge, at least in his natural form. Hopefully Ranma would take him out before that became a problem... the house just finished being repaired, after all.

Not that it was his house to protect, though. Nodoka had made it painfully clear, in deed if not in word, that he was only tolerated here, not welcome. Perhaps it was unreasonable to expect things to be as they were whenever he finally got around to returning... hell, who was he kidding? Of course it was. When he left he hadn't actually planned to return at all, so that hadn't really been a concern.

The years on the road had been exciting, just like reliving his own childhood training with own father. At least until the war, of course... and after that it was never an option. He narrowly avoided contemplating the master's training in any depth, catching himself as the day he and Soun met the old bastard tried to sneak into mind. If not for Ranma's existence he would have judged the remainder of his life a waste, and he ruefully admitted he owed the fallen pervert that little bit of acknowledgement; he'd have never met Nodoka without his assistance'.

For a moment his heart leapt into his throat as the over-classed boy prepared to transform. Seeing the slight grin on Ranma's face eased any concerns, however... the boy never could hide it when he had a clever idea in mind. "Too honest for his own good sometimes," he grumbled aloud, though he knew deep down that his greatest joy was seeing Ranma's face light up with the joy of the art. Well, that and smacking him into the pond when he gets too predictable, of course.

With careless ease the young man in question hopped off the beast's chest, casually brushing stray bits of debris from his arms. Besides a few scratches on these limbs and the occasional grass stain, he looked unharmed. "Heh, piece a cake," he smirked as Genma made his way towards the victor.

"You're lucky you didn't kill him with that last stunt, Boy," he grumbled, tossing a cup of warm water on the defeated warrior, "especially after breaking his nose. Just plain sloppy." Wouldn't do for the boy to get a big head about such an easy win.

"It was a solid blow ta the chin, Pop, and nothin' more. Not the first time I took this punk out with a good shot there."

"Still, you should have been more careful. A martial artist must always strive to protect the weak, even if they happen to be your opponent at the time," Genma pronounced, quoting some material he had long ago committed to memory without thinking too hard about. At least this one sounded right when he said it.

"Yeah, well, lucky for him I remembered that I'm the only one supposed ta die this morning," Ranma replied sourly. "Now that the fight's done let's get this over with fore I lose my nerve."

That chill ran down his spine again... the one that always seemed to come when Nodoka unsheathed that damned sword. Why had the boy done something as stupid as giving her any reason to take it back off the shelf?

"Boy," he began, placing a hand on his son's bare shoulder. "Ranma, please think this over. If you want out of your engagements this badly then I'll take back the promises, honor be damned. I'm sure Soun will understand, but even if he doesn't I'd rather keep my son than his friendship." Not that it really mattered at this point anyway... Soun would be pissed at how this played out now regardless. He'd get over it eventually though, Genma hoped.

"Pop, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said ta me," Ranma whispered, "and it really means a lot ta hear ya say it. But I've gotta do this, not just for me or you, or even the Tendos; If I don't deal with this then it'll dishonor our whole family, from the earliest antecessors to any future generations we might have. I won't let that happen to them, or ta Mom."

Plan C it is then: take all the responsibility away from the kid and make a break for it. "Then let me take responsibility for it all, son. I've been thinking about it all night, and when it comes down to it this really is all my fault."

"Who are you and what have ya done with Saotome Genma?" Ranma snapped, gripping his father's lapels.

"What, you doubt your father's sincerity?" he replied, doing his best puffed-chest imitation of pride.

"No, but I doubt you takin' alla the blame this time. I'm the one who promised Ucchan I'd watch over her forever. I'm the one who challenged Shampoo. I'm the one who pretty much accepted Akane's claim when we switched it back from Nabiki. I'm sorry Pop, but this is something I gotta do."

"No you don't!"

Both Saotomes wheeled around to find Nabiki and the fiancées entering the yard, the moderator with a very purposeful pace. As Nabiki approached she pounced on Ranma, hugging him excitedly in what seemed like her best attempt to make Shampoo's efforts seem lacking. No denying it, the boy just had the touch when it came to women, whether he wanted it or not.

"Um, you wanna explain that, Nabiki?" Ranma asked, apparently trying to escape her grasp with some semblance of calm.

"We solved the problem, Ranma! There are no more contradictions against your honor now!" she explained excitedly, though with less affection this time.

Ranma stumbled back a step and collapsed into a sitting position, stunned. "You really did it? Wow, I thought for sure I was a goner. So, uh, who's the lucky girl?"

None of the girls were forthcoming, but Shampoo didn't even seem to be paying attention. Must be pretty tired, Genma guessed, glad he snuck in a reasonable amount of rest.

"Well, that's pretty much up to you to decide again, Ranma," Nabiki began.

"What!" Ranma interrupted. "Damn it, I told you that I won't make a choice and I meant it. It's up to you three to figure it out. Look, I appreciate the effort but I'm not backing out of this. That's the way it has to be!"

"Calm down, Ranma, geez," Nabiki complained. "What I mean to say is that we really did get rid of all the problems. You don't -have- to choose, but it's your choice again."

"You're not making a whole lot of sense, you know that?" the narrowly pardoned young man retorted defensively.

"You aren't engaged anymore, to anybody," Nabiki clarified. "I got them to agree to all drop their official claims so that you could live and none of them would lose... well, most of them wouldn't anyway."

"You mean... you all," Ranma paused, gripping his forehead. "Not even one of you was willing to give up unless the others all did too!"

Genma boggled for a moment... what did it matter why he was free? Stupid boy can't even take the gift of life without thinking there's some catch. The catch doesn't matter if you leave before they can tell you what it is!

"Of course we didn't, Ranchan... We all love you too much!" Ukyo pleaded.

"No, Ukyo, you don't. None of you do," Ranma stated bluntly. "That was the whole damned point of this test, and you all failed miserably."

"How can you say that you jerk?" Akane demanded. "This was some sicko game of yours? Some kind of psychotic stress test?"

"You ever heard the saying if you love something, let it go...'? It's really simple," Ranma snapped. "I was trying to see which of you would give up first, would sacrifice their own happiness for my sake. None of you made it."

"You... used me," Nabiki whispered.

"I'm real glad you all came to this decision, though you sure took your sweet time about it," Ranma continued. "It would have been a damned shame if I had to die over nothing."

"Nothing?" Shampoo snarled tearfully. "You say Shampoo love nothing? Shampoo lose so much for you love; honor as tribe champion, body to springs, pride to stupid country, and now must give first time sex to stick-boy! Shampoo too too good for Ranma!" She finished the tirade by belting him across the face, then ran away as he crumpled into the dirt.

Ukyo dropped to a knee next to him and helped him sit up. "You gambled your life and all our feelings on some silly cliche? You really are a jackass, Ranma." She slapped the boy hard across the cheek and walked calmly away.

Akane took the opportunity to stomp on his crotch, call him a "stupid, arrogant bastard", and likewise leave in a huff. Nabiki followed after her, though she stopped to look back over her shoulder before leaving the yard.

This last departure made Genma pause. He'd never before seen young Nabiki with that particular look on her face before, but he doubted it was a good thing. Had the boy finally managed to not just annoy her, but fully piss her off?

"Perhaps you should leave the decisions regarding honor to me from now on, boy," Genma suggested, hopefully.

Nodoka smiled enigmatically and shook her head, saying nothing.

**Author's Notes:**

Yeah... quite a delay since last update, huh?

Truth is I had this chapter's first draft almost done when the last one was posted. Unfortunately, fate intervened in the form of the evil that is windows service pack 2. Some kind of crazy noncompliance error locked my system down into a nasty reboot loop that even safe mode, refresh to last known config, or hours on the phone with some random Hindu techs couldn't get it out of. The solution ended up being a full sweep and reload, resulting in me losing everything I had done. After having to download my own work from other people's servers just to have a copy I found it really hard to get any kind of motivation to work on this for any length of time.

So no, I wasn't intentionally trying to screw with you over with the cliffhanger ending from last time. Sorry about that.

Secondly, thanks for the suggestions, Max. I went back through all the previous chapters and tried to clean up all the stuff you mentioned. Better?

This chapter was originally going to be all in the last chapter, but it obviously got too long. I was thinking of adding two or three more scenes to this one, but what is here is enough to cross my self-imposed 10,000-word minimum, and in the end I decided they fit better as the start of the next act, "Rhythm of the Flames."

Finally, here's the part where I pontificate for a while about the subtle nature of the act title. Yes, I know it's pretentious as hell but it became a sort of tradition along the way, so there you have it. Don't like it? Then don't read it.

The original name of this act was "The Paradox of Free Will", but discussions with reviewer Obsidian-Fox convinced me that the argument upon which this name was based was fatally flawed.

The new title for this act still captures the same general point; that the primary thematic theme of this act was to tie up (or at least make preparations to tie up) several of the lingering conflicts from the original manga. A deck of fate, also known as the tarot, symbolizes the various situations of the characters from the manga and the earlier chapters, all of which have led up to Ranma's challenge this chapter.

The deck has been shuffled for two reasons: first, the old story arcs are now mostly over, making room for the new stuff to begin. Secondly, the shuffling also refers to the way in which the standard shipped relationships have been twisted around to allow some much less common pairings... mostly just because I want to play around with some new dimensions of character outside of the typical portrayals.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #4 (Recently demoted for slacking off... sigh)

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	10. A Rhythm in the Flames: Act 4, pt 1

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall  
**A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 4: A Rhythm in the Flames  
**Part 1

**Pre-readers:**  
Aondehafka  
Robert

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

Ranma unveiled his plan to solve the fiancée dilemma once and for all by declaring that he really couldn't make an honorable choice. Therefore it was the girls' problem, not his. Several people disagreed with this notion, but he went even further, declaring that the situation would end this night... either by the fiancées choosing one among themselves or his seppuku at dawn!

While the girls went upstairs to talk, Ranma found time to make a deal with Ryoga that regardless of the outcome neither would interfere with the other's attempts to win Akane. He talked with Cologne about his dreams, which set her off on a quest for information. Finally, Ryu came back from his spar with Mousse in time for a quick demonstration of the forbidden Umisenken stealth technique... against the advice of both Genma and Cologne.

The girls tried everything they could come up with to settle the issue, but dawn came before an answer did. Taro's sudden appearance on behalf of the jilted Kodachi bought some time, though. Nabiki spent it wisely, finally convincing the fiancées to all give up their claims so that Ranma could live and they would essentially all be on the same footing anyway (well, except for Shampoo due to another complication). The fiancées rushed downstairs with the good news just as Ranma managed to take down his monstrous foe, the first time he'd ever done so without help.

Things quickly turned sour from there as Ranma revealed the whole idea was a test (based on the old "if you love something, let it go..." cliché)... and one they had all failed by refusing to quit individually. The girls made their displeasure plainly known, and nobody left happy. Even the majority of the Saotome family was still rather annoyed at the whole situation Ranma had put them through.

**

* * *

**

He awoke suddenly, the effect of being shoved casually aside by his new wife. At least there wasn't any real malice behind it... a definite improvement over Shampoo. Rather than rise he chose to stay in the dirt where he lay for the moment, gazing up at her as he stretched across the hard ground, working out some residual soreness from his sparring session with Ryu. "Good morning, Ukyo," he offered blandly as a greeting to the brownish-haired blur.

She paused in fumbling tiredly with the keys to look his way, then closed her eyes and sighed. "Mousse, can't whatever you want wait till later? I'm dead on my feet here."

"I don't mean to keep you up long but, um, I'm kinda still unwelcome at the restaurant and all..." he hinted, while feeling around for his glasses.

"...And you figured that for some reason I'd let you sleep here," she finished the thought. She turned away and finished unlocking the door, stepped in, but paused in the doorway. "I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but why exactly did you think I'd go for this idea?"

The first answer to spring to mind was 'Because you're my wife', but his memories of the previous morning told him that was likely to just piss her off. "...Because you're, um, such a generous person?" the Amazon finally hazarded.

With a noncommittal grunt the chef continued walking into the dark store, leaving the door open behind her.

After finally finding his lenses again, Mousse got up and brushed himself off. He then peered inside the store, unsure of how to take the non-answer. "Um, hello?" he called after her into the mostly unlit space, unsure of where she had gotten off to. Still not receiving an answer, he stumbled in curiously, shutting the door behind him.

He headed towards the back room, where the sounds of light slumber could be heard emanating from the supply closet; the ninja, he guessed. Finding the door closed, Mousse chose instead to head upstairs to Ukyo's room, presumably where she wandered off to.

Her door was ajar. He knocked lightly on the frame, but still received no answer. The Amazon took a deep breath then pushed aside the barrier, half expecting to be kicked in the face at any moment.

"You've got some real balls coming into my room like this, Mousse. I'll give you that much credit." Ukyo was apparently already in bed, her kimono left carelessly on the floor in a heap.

"You, um, never really answered my question back there..." he mumbled in explanation. Had her attitude towards him changed back to affectionate by the evening's events? Was she wearing anything under those sheets?

"I didn't say no, if that's what you're getting at," she replied, "but I didn't invite you in either, so don't expect much in the way of hospitality."

"I guess I understand," the Amazon answered, then began to disrobe.

"Oh for Kami's sake!" she half growled, turning to face away from him. "Look, you can stay the night but there's no way in hell I'm sleeping with you again, jackass. Bah, Amazons..."

"But I thought maybe..."

"The spare futon's in the closet by the bathroom," she explained. "Go find some open floor and set yourself up. I'm too tired to play hostess."

Mousse walked towards the indicated door, but paused to gather up her discarded robe. If he was headed to the closet anyway, he decided, he might as well do her a favor and put it up. The formal garment looked like it was meant to folded up in some fashion, but being unfamiliar with it he chose to just hang it up on a wire hanger. Better than the floor, at least.

Behind rows of her typical market clothes and a pair of male school uniforms he found the tightly rolled bedding mat she had spoken of. The young man took a few steps towards the door before some twinge of pride and rebelliousness caused him to pause. Without further ado he dropped the mat next to her larger western-style bed and unrolled it where the kimono had been moments before.

"What exactly are you doing?" the chef groaned, rolling back over to glare at him.

"You said to find some open floor... this spot looks pretty open to me, right?" he replied without meeting her gaze directly.

"Argh... fine, whatever," she snapped, lying back down in a huff.

The Amazon grinned at his small victory, safe in the relative darkness of the room.

"...but if you try anything funny, and I do mean anything, I promise that no amount of hot water will be able to make you a man again. You got that?"

His grin died a horrible death and his throat went dry. With a gulp, he returned an affirmative "Yeah, uh, no problem."

"Well, good night then."

"Uh... good morning, actually."

"Mousse?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

So this was married life; going to sleep on the floor with only a cheap, lumpy, itchy, thinly padded mat to call your own... while his wife, for all of a whole day now, claimed the soft, inviting mattress and its thick covers all to herself. Tossing and turning, struggling in vain to find a comfortable way to sleep on this potato sack of a bed, Mousse had to wonder just what the hell it was that made people want this life.

Oh yeah... sex without having to do all the usual annoying date stuff.

But then it seemed that the rumors were true on that account... their sex life had quickly gone downhill after marriage, just like all the old men back in the village used to joke about. Kind of depressing in a way, he decided... one decent night he only really half remembered, and in payment the rest of his life was hers. Still, at least she was treating him better than Shampoo usually did.

He felt a wave of homesickness though, wishing he were back in that idealistic world back in China before he'd ever heard of Ranma. A place where he was free to sample the wares of any village girl who would have him... Well, to be honest the three that had invited him to 'explore their mysteries' weren't exactly prizes. Ban Shi was incredibly annoying whenever she opened her mouth, Haru Pi kept nagging him, and Bao Reng, with her calm, patient manner, just wasn't exciting enough for him.

All three publicly scorned him when he left the village for Japan, jealous no doubt of his ongoing attention to Shampoo. He remembered it was rather an odd feeling, to be rejected by people he had known so well and yet really didn't care all that much for. On the one hand he didn't really care, as he had already rejected them, but still the fact that they were so strongly set against him had left Mousse with a certain degree of hurt anyway.

He decided that was probably the reason for Ukyo's attitude lately. She couldn't help feeling a little bad that, whatever had transpired after he left, she didn't come home with Saotome in tow. Sure the chef had openly rejected her former fiancé by marrying him (even Saotome wasn't quite that clueless... probably), but there might be some residual feelings there to work out still. Mousse just needed to be patient and stay available... eventually she'd get over it and adjust to their new life.

Unless of course she really didn't want to be married...

"Mousse?"

"Uh, yes?" he replied, caught off guard by the unexpected intrusion on his inner monologue.

"Would you please stop rolling around down there and muttering to yourself? You're keeping me up and kinda creeping me out at the same time."

An opportunity? "Sorry, it's just that I'm kind of uncomfortable down here. Saotome's cousin gave me a hell of a workout... I'm not sure he fully understands the concept of sparring." At least he sure hoped that he wasn't holding back.

A pillow rained down on him from above, striking with unnecessary force.

"I was just wondering, if, you know, I could maybe come up there instead?" he queried cautiously.

"Gee, I wonder what the world speed record is for a radical castration with a kitchen utensil?" she replied with less hesitation. "I'm sure I can beat my old record..."

He wisely concluded talks for the time being.

**

* * *

**

She awoke with a start and glanced to the clock, then cursed her weakness for falling asleep. Under normal circumstances she could remain active almost indefinitely, should the circumstances require her attentions. Certainly this was one such instance, perhaps the most daunting challenge she had faced since becoming matriarch, and here she was nodding off while reading the ancient history of her people like a common undisciplined girl. In truth she was quite lucky to be alive, but that would hardly matter in the long run if what she suspected came to pass.

Then again this was all moot if the boy's so-called plan failed to work out. Regardless of the outcome she had been planning on attending, but the sun was already fully above the horizon. The sound of rapid impacts from the back lot told her just where to go to ask, however, and eliminated one of the possible outcomes. Unsure of how she personally felt about that new information, the elder proceeded downstairs to see to her heir, who surely wasn't in the best of moods regardless of which of the other outcomes had come to fruition.

The scene playing out before her left her somewhat confused, however. The makeshift training equipment they had created from scrap metal, wood, and other items was now little more that so much debris spread across the yard. It was for precisely this reason that the Amazons never paid for 'quality' training gear, but some of these were fairly new and should have lasted much longer than they had... especially the iron drum they found last week and filled with rocks, now lying on its side and split in twain under the force of repeated thunderous blows. At the center of the mess Shampoo continued to bash the pile, using overhand swings of one of her bonbori with nothing resembling training or skill.

"Enough!" the elder shouted forcefully in her native tongue, throwing off the girl in mid swing. Shampoo's grip slipped at the impact and the bludgeoning implement's handle slipped free, rebounding with the blow to smack into her forehead and topple her gracelessly into the dirt. She declined to react to the pain, choosing instead to growl in frustration and kick the misshapen drum.

"Child, this tantrum is not worthy of you and is doing your training no good at all." Cologne scolded as she approached the petulant young warrior, then sighed. In a softer voice she asked, "I take it the evening's outcome was... not to your liking?"

"Not to anyone's liking," the girl admitted with a scowl as she sat up. "Ranma is a damned fool."

"Most men are, dear," she replied with a forced smile, trying to ignore the particular wording her young apprentice had chosen, "...and Ranma more than most others."

Shampoo laughed, but not in humor. "He said it was all just a test, a game to see which of us gave up first. He intended to marry the one who showed she loved him least!"

"Quite foolish indeed," she agreed, though certain there was more to it than this simple explanation. "So who quit first then? Akane?"

"No one quit first, Great-Grandmother. We argued until dawn without getting anywhere."

"So... he's dead then?" Cologne hazarded, though suspecting it much more likely that he simply ran away when faced with his mortality, as he had several times before. The boy was hardly the bravest she'd known, though to his credit he usually found his nerve whenever others were in real danger.

"No, not dead yet," Shampoo replied ruefully. "We didn't want him to die, not like that. The greedy Tendo suggested we all give up to save him, and... I agreed. We all did." Shampoo punched the ground angrily before continuing, "And that stupid bastard was -angry- that we let him live! He said that we all failed his stupid test, that we somehow proved we didn't love him!"

The elder grimaced and shook her head, astounded at the folly of youth. If the boy was still alive, however, she hadn't the time to waste counseling her ward in her latest romantic setback. "I share your feelings, child, but there is something I have to take care of. You and Mu Tzu will remain here long enough to pack whatever of our belongings you wish to keep and to sell this property." She paused and looked around, then asked, "Where is that loafer anyway? I have instructions for him as well."

"He hasn't been here for a few days." Shampoo replied neutrally.

The old woman's interest was piqued. "Gone, that lovesick fool? How hard did you hit him?"

"I didn't hit him," she explained. "Well, not recently, anyway. He went out a couple of days ago and hasn't been back since."

"Yet I saw him at Ranma's mother's house the other evening," the matriarch snapped. "If he is well he should be here, which makes me wonder what you did to him to drive him off again."

"I didn't beat him up again, if that's what you're asking," Shampoo sniffed defensively.

"But you did do something, didn't you."

"I just used him to show Kuno how the curses work," Shampoo replied.

"You humiliated him before someone he views as a rival." Cologne sighed, rubbing her temples. "So I can only assume he's plotting some sort of revenge on the boy now. Why weren't you keeping tabs on him? Who knows what kind of madness he's planning..."

"My new..." Shampoo grimaced, "husband... is better than him anyway, so who cares?"

"You really should have more respect for his skills, child. You don't give him nearly enough credit."

"But he's a male! He shouldn't have those skills in the first place!"

"This is an old argument, and one I don't have time for at the moment. I expect you to bring both Mu Tzu and your husband back to the village with you. Finding them and keeping them from killing each other is your problem."

Shampoo blinked. "But... why so soon? Why the rush?"

"If my suspicions are correct, and I pray they are not, Ranma may be under the influence of a dark spirit... The Pale One."

The younger Amazon recoiled as if struck. "But... But that's just a myth, a story to frighten the children," she whispered, then turned a hopeful glance at the elder. "Isn't it?"

"You fought the Phoenix King, did you not? If that part of the tale is true why should I not assume this one is as well? Surely you noticed his curse reacted unusually last night, sensed the change in his behavior, and felt the hunger of that black aura..." Cologne turned to look at the sky, sighing. "Child, he's seen the demon in his dreams, even spoken with it."

"Will you kill him?" Shampoo asked flatly.

Cologne turned back to her great-granddaughter, but could not gauge whether the girl actually wanted that outcome or not. "It may very well be the easiest answer, I admit. If I can get him back to the village perhaps the other elders and I will find a way to save him in the scrolls of record. But if not..." The sentence need not be completed. "And even if I do, there is no guarantee that the damnable fiend won't just pick another host. I don't have the answer at this point."

Shampoo stood up, dusting herself off quickly as she rose, and turned away. "I understand. I will handle everything here."

"Xian Pu..."

"Just go!" Shampoo yelled, then added in a lower tone, "Please, Great Grandmother... just go. I will do as you asked."

"Very well," she replied, then bounded to the rooftops. For her student's sake she would give the less fatal approach a try, for now.

**

* * *

**

He stood on the edge of a solid rock ledge, gazing down from on high at the indistinct landscape below. The forest, once alluring and fearsome, stood no more; a charred and blackened space ravaged by recent fire filled its place while the scent of smoke still clung to him, thick and heavy. The once gentle green hills were pale and frozen beneath a blanket of ice crystals, each drift edge gleaming like razors in the shifting moonlight. Looking beyond these immediate landscapes revealed only an endless bank of cold grey fog which seemed to melt into the clouds above to form a subtle, but effective, barrier to his perceptions. The whole of the landscape was still and dead, save for a slight chill breeze and the distant roll of thunder.

Ranma wasn't really taking in these details, however. He was far more concerned with getting the timing right so that when the figure he expected to appear behind him any second now decided to drop in, his attack would catch him by surprise. There, the skin on the back of his neck prickled with a faint static charge; immediately he threw himself backwards with his full strength, twisting in mid air to snap his leg at a height just above his own face. He growled in annoyance as his blow only succeeded in dissipating a patch of dark fog.

"Still feeling a bit aggressive, are we?" a monotone voice asked from higher up the cliffs.

"Didn't I tell ya I didn't wanna see you again?" The young man snapped. "Why can't ya get it through your head that I don't give a damn about whatever you wanna tell me?"

"And why are you so unable to listen to a few simple words? What are you afraid of?" the dark figure returned, merely standing on the ledge in a natural posture, his hands hidden beneath the shifting multi-hued robes. "I only wish to talk."

"Yeah? Well that's just tough," Ranma muttered as he leapt upward, propelling himself ever higher as he kicked against the nearly sheer surface of the cliffs to reach the next ledge, briefly losing sight of his quarry. He tensed his arms tight against his chest until just clearing the ledge, then flung them wide to release a large vacuum blade. He landed lightly on the stone shelf and glanced around as the wave bit a hollow gash into the face, his prey absent.

"First fear, now anger... which emotion will you hide behind next, I wonder?" asked Norou without amusement from somewhere below. "Will you try to drown out my words with the sound of your tears?"

"You could only dream, pal!" Ranma growled, peering over the edge to spot his foe standing where he had been moments before. With a smirk he spread his fingers wide and released spikes of angry red chi, each of the ten rays resulting in a bakusai tenketsu explosion on contact with the raw stone. He then used the forbidden kijin raishü dan technique again to sheer off the platform of stone he now perched on, ridding the block down the already crumbling surface to the lower level as both a sled and a weapon.

He stood ready, senses at full alert, as the debris and dust settled around him. Yet again it seemed the interloper had evaded his attempt to close and fight. He quickly glanced around, both above and below his current station, but made no move yet in either direction.

"You must realize this is pointless by now." The pale man spoke softly, his words riding the faint breeze. "It is fundamentally impossible for you to defeat me here."

Ranma quickly spotted him, standing just as unconcerned as ever, but perched on thin air some fifty meters out from his current location. Rather than leap blindly in pursuit, he changed strategic gears and fell back on a familiar tactic. "Really... then why did you take off after I belted ya last time? If you're so sure I can't beat ya then why are you playing keep away, coward?"

"Perhaps because this only serves as a distraction, a waste of my time and yours? This is a dream, Ranma... nothing you can do here has any physical consequence." Norou answered patiently. "Participating in a common brawl is far from my intent, as I have already explained repeatedly."

"Wait a sec... this isn't just a dream; it's MY dream!" Ranma charged his unwilling foe, running across the open space as surely as if it were a paved street. Ahead of him clouds circled and closed, metamorphosing into steel bands to encapsulate the figure. "You can't keep running away if I don't let ya!"

The young man's advantage was very short lived, however. With a tired shake of his head the cloaked man disappeared again in a puff of dark fog, leaving his heavy bonds to fall freely to the ground far below. Ranma's newfound control lapsed at this change, and, despite his better intentions, he could not prevent himself from plummeting after them. As he fell he grit his teeth and clamped his eyes firmly shut, fighting his own fear response and whirling subconscious to find a way out of this mess.

"Yes, clever of you to realize you can control the rules of your dreamscape," came honest praise from his reluctant foe. "However, I am no mere figment of you dream, Ranma. You can't make me go away with a whim."

The problem, he suddenly realized, was the world. As long as it remained, he'd have to keep resisting his instincts and understanding of its workings to have any hope of fighting Norou on an even level. With all the force of will he could muster, he shut out the sensation of the wind cutting into his limbs as he plummeted, ignored the sights and sounds and smells of the world until his perceptions consisted of just himself in an empty void, all alone with his enemy. Cautiously he opened his eyes to find the view very much the same as when they were shut.

"Is this meant to prove something?"

Ranma looked up (not that up seemed to have much meaning anymore, he noted) to see that his opponent was still simply floating in place, casually. This lackadaisical attitude infuriated him, making it quite easy to summon a very potent burst of crimson chi and launch it in Norou's direction. Rather than blaze a trail towards the figure, however, it slowed as it moved, eventually coming to a stop midway between them, still crackling with unresolved destructive potency.

Norou slid effortlessly to the side, reestablishing line of sight between the two. "Do I honestly have to beat some sense into you before you'll listen?" he asked, his voice trailing into a sigh.

Ranma paused, sensing an opportunity. "Tell you what... If ya stop dancing around long enough to actually beat me, then yeah, I'll listen. If I win though, you have to stay the hell out of my head from now on. Deal?"

"Fine then, I accept. Enjoy your requested serving of pain." Norou's pale, boney hands emerged from the depths of his shifting robes to make a strange twisting gesture. His image seemed to blur suddenly, like ripples on a pond, only to reform as a view of Ranma's own back.

Ranma puzzled at this odd scene just long enough for him to notice that his chi attack was again moving, followed thereafter by a searing pain from behind as the angry chi impacted with him and exploded. The force of the impact sent him spiraling out of control, twisting and twirling without respect to any frame of reference and leaving him with a nauseating sensation of dizziness. For a moment he caught a glimpse of his enemy, still quite some distance away, but was distracted by a wave of sudden impacts into his body from all sides, as if being assaulted by invisible fists and feet. He tried to roll with the phantom impacts as best he could, but they came too fast and from all sides seemingly at once. His vision blurred and his body burned when the onslaught ended, leaving him feeling as if he had just gone three rounds against a Ryoga who knew the amaguriken technique.

"Do you yield?" the pale man asked simply.

Ranma silently shook his head to indicate no, determined to fight through the pain.

"Are you quite sure? It is no shame to lose such a match, given the circumstances." Norou floated closer at a leisurely pace, throwing the occasional punch haphazardly at the empty void. As each strike ended the image of his limb seemed to hang in the air for a moment, then fade away as if multiplied and pulled apart in layers, each leaving a ghostly image drifting in different directions before vanishing completely. "I'm sure you've no experience whatsoever fighting in zones of variable time and space. It was rather foolish of you to so willingly destroy the framework of your dreamscape; at least there I was forced to bend the rules you live by rather than break them at will."

"Don't matter," Ranma spat. "Stupid tricks won't stop me. Match ain't over yet."

"As you wish."

Another wave of blows came, but this time Ranma was ready for them. At first they hurt, but as he silently repeated the mantra 'only a dream' the sensation faded away into just the vaguest sensation of pressure. The ache of previous blows melted away as well, leaving him fresh and ready to continue.

"That all ya got?" he taunted, then released a swath of vacuum blades towards the robed man, concentrating on keeping its path true. For a moment the image seemed to ripple again, but then the blade cut through the plane of the effect, shattering it like glass. Norou blinked, then quickly floated out of the path of the attack, barely dodging the trailing edge.

"Unfortunately for you, Ranma, no, it is not," the figure replied evenly. "If phantom pains will not dissuade you from this foolishness, perhaps real ones will."

The first change began as a dull ache, radiating from his lower spine like an uncomfortable pressure. The sensation intensified as it spread in waves, accompanied by an itching, tingling sensation like all of her body falling asleep at once. With each wave the pain and pressure was magnified, pressing in on him from all sides and then flowing back out, as if her skin might burst as his body warped and shifted.

"This is no mere dream-stuff, Ranma, no figment. The pain you feel now is real. This pain is happening to your real flesh right now, while you lie helpless in bed. I repeat: do you yield?"

Time seemed to slow further, and with it the sensations became still more acute. The waves of pressure washed over her accompanied with searing heat now, charring away her hips, her breasts, all her curves becoming just so much smoke, ash, and dripping, melted fat. They flowed back out with icy sharpness, penetrating his muscles and genitals like razors and hooks, stripping the bulk of his flesh like shredded beef. Through it all her bones shifted and warped, his joints creaking with the sudden torque of rapid expansion and contraction, and her agonized screams came unbidden through his jaws, finally beating out her pride and begging for his suffering to end.

"There, was that so hard?"

"You bastard..." Ranma moaned in reply, unable to find the will to move even a finger as blissful numbness replaced all sensation of pain. "You've been doing this to me for days now, haven't ya? Making me suffer just for your amusement... just a damn sadist."

"Actually, I was trying to teach you a lesson in humility after you struck me the last time we met. Enjoying your torment was just an added bonus," he explained with deadpan calm. "And of -course- I'm a sadist... I wouldn't be much of a demon without finding a certain pleasure watching the growing pains of others, now would I? Especially since I'm a Soul Render by trade."

"Huh?" Ranma replied cluelessly.

"Oh, don't worry about the details. You will get the hang of it in no time, I guarantee it," The pale man smirked, more or less kneeling next to her weightlessly drifting form. "At the rate you've been developing lately I would not be surprised if you were ready for the next phase inside another two weeks."

"And you're the voice in my head, too... the one that made me go psycho on the Orrochi."

"Not while you're awake, no. Too much trouble to manifest in the physical world so far from my sphere of influence," he answered in an oddly conversational tone. "But enough about that; you agreed to listen, not to ask questions all morning."

"Said I'd listen, not that I'd blindly do what ya want. Spit it out already."

"Very well. To put it simply, I am here to develop your latent talents, Ranma, and to guide you down the dark path you've chosen."

"Path that I've chosen? What path?" Ranma asked, interrupting.

Norou stared at her silently until she shut her mouth. "As I was explaining, I am what mortals refer to as a demon, but what you need to understand is that soon you will be one as well. Your spirit called out for aid in the caverns of Jusendo, and the darkness answered your call. With your new strength you cut down the would-be-godling... and I took notice. Now I am here to guide you in the process you have begun... as a professional courtesy, you might say."

"Me, a demon... Right." Ranma deadpanned. "So say this is true; what do you get outta it? I'm findin' the idea of a generous demon something that just don't fit, ya know?"

"Oh, just by helping you down the path I'm sure that all I want will naturally come to me along the way. What meager profits I acquire from this relationship will hardly be noticeable to you at all, in the end."

"Sure," Ranma replied, "cause that don't sound suspicious at all." A sudden spike of pain and pressure washed over her, serving as a reminder to him why he was now listening to the pale man in the first place.

Norou assumed a more imposing posture, seeming to tower above him, as the flames that seemed to pass for his eyes blazed with a harsh intensity. "You haven't the slightest idea how..." he began, but he trailed off, distractedly. Suppressing a growl, he continued, "...annoying... it is to be interrupted so often. We will speak again very soon, Ranma."

**

* * *

**

"Squee!" the piglet roared in frustration as best it could, then sank dejectedly to sit on the sidewalk and gaze at the morning sun, now fully above the horizon. The sight offered proof that his conception of The Way Things Are was certainly outdated now, but offered no hints as to how the rules had changed. Was Akane available? Was his constant opponent and occasional friend alive? Both? Neither? The prospects were alternately thrilling and depressing, but as long as Ryoga was... well, wherever the hell he was... the suspense would only grow worse.

When he was younger and more idealistic, Ryoga often imagined that his navigational difficulties were the result of some mysterious curse, and wondered just what his ancestors could have done to warrant it. He often daydreamed that he would stumble across the secret to their affliction and lift the mysterious stain from the Hibiki family line by completing some great heroic feat of bravery. In fact this pleasant fantasy was the original motivation for him to learn the Art; preparation for the day when an opportunity would arise to earn redemption.

Now he was much more cynical, experience having provided numerous lessons on the fact that the world was not a fair, orderly place. He believed that if his getting lost was a curse (rather than a chemical imbalance in his brain or something), that it was almost certainly not something that had actually been earned. It was far more likely that one of Ryoga's ancestors had just accidentally been in the wrong place at the wrong time (like how he got this damnable pig's body), and from that moment on his family was never allowed to be at the right place at the right time. If that was true, then redemption wasn't really a possibility; revenge, his motivator of choice these days, was the only reasonable option left if he ever found the person or thing responsible.

Still, the naïve dreamer wasn't completely dead in Ryoga's heart... quite the opposite in fact. He still hoped for an end to his problems, but the knowledge of how remote the chance was that such fanciful notions might come true had transformed them from uplifting aspirations into something more akin to a cold stone wheel, on which he sharpened his anger and despair. Often he tried to picture his own personal heaven when he needed to push his usual Shishi Hokodan blasts into the perfected form.

Such was the nature of his relationships with Ranma and Akane, from a certain point of view. He held out no real hope of defeating Ranma in a fight, nor of wooing the apparently most desirable young woman in Japan (if Akane's hordes of suitors were any indication), yet found the bittersweet taste of second place strangely satisfying. At least when he lost he knew where things stood. In contrast, those times when it seemed he might actually achieve his goals often left Ryoga feeling lost and uncertain, too paralyzed by the dazzling possibilities to attain them.

It was exactly this panic that struck when he was almost stepped on by some careless oaf strolling back from the convenience store... and saw that the oaf in question was none other than Tendo Soun. He simply froze, unable to decide whether he should follow him back and find out what happened or run away and enjoy the ignorance of bliss a little while longer.

In the end the choice was rendered moot when the Tendo patriarch snatched him up by the bandana and dropped him into his grocery bag where he stoically rode without complaint, wedged uncomfortably in the paper bag between two cartons of cigarettes and a bottle of vegetable oil.

"I'm home!" Soun announced as he kicked off his shoes and quickly removed the bottle of oil from the sack and slid the rest to the small of his back.

"Not so loud, Father," Kasumi's voice admonished as Ryoga's conveyance walked towards the kitchen and leaned in the doorway. "Akane and Nabiki need their rest."

"Quite so... and here's what you needed from the store, daughter," the Tendo patriarch replied as he sat the bottle on the counter, making no move to fully enter the door.

"Father," Kasumi began with an insinuating tone, "What are you trying to hide?"

"Um, hide? Ha, as if I had any secrets worth keeping!"

"You bought cigarettes again, didn't you." It wasn't a question. "You've plenty already for the week, assuming you cut back like you said you would."

"I will, it's just that, um... they were on sale?" Soun guessed.

"Well, at least Nabiki would say you're making progress," the eldest daughter huffed.

"It's a bit chilly out today... think I'll take a bath and warm up."

P-Chan perked up at this comment and began struggling to get some leverage from his cramped position. Soun apparently noticed and changed his grip on the package so that he was even more confined than before.

"Don't take too long, father. I'll have breakfast ready soon."

Soun backed out of the doorway and made a hasty retreat towards the furo. Once the coast was clear he removed the struggling P-Chan from the bag and doused him with a bucket of cold water, washing away the grime of the road. Ryoga squealed in protest, but was casually directed with a thumb towards the tub. Soun, still fully dressed, tore into one of the cartons. "...More like her mother every day," he grumbled.

P-Chan took the suggestion, annoyed at the scene and his treatment but still unsure how to deal with this situation.

"Don't look at me like that, young man," Soun snapped as he ignited his drug of choice. "I can't very well tell her that I finished all of them since I learned of Ranma's return. Besides, I need to have a talk with you, man to man."

"How the heck did you know it was me?" Ryoga snapped.

Soun exhaled in the boy's face. "Well it was pretty obvious when you changed in the furo while I was using it, you know. I assumed you knew that I knew, and abused my daughter's trust anyway."

"Abused?" Hibiki echoed, stunned by the bluntness of the statement. "But I, um... Hey, if you thought of it like that why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Because it suited my purposes, of course. Genma and I agreed that your presence was forcing Ranma to reveal his feelings for Akane thorough his actions."

"You used me... that makes you every bit as much to fault as I am in this," Ryoga reasoned, "so where do you get off telling me I abused Akane's trust?"

"Keep your voice down!" Soun hissed, then took another deep drag before continuing. "Because the situation is no longer necessarily in my favor, young man."

"So, you know how Ranma, uh, ended up, I guess?" Ryoga hesitantly asked, receiving a nod in reply. "So, who..."

"No-one; Nabiki told me he spurned them all and backed out of the seppuku pledge." Tendo coughed, then clarified, "Well that's more or less what she said, anyway. She wasn't too specific."

"That cowardly bastard! I'll..."

"You'll wake up Akane and Nabiki if you don't keep quiet, that's what you'll do."

Ryoga sheepishly looked away, though his fist remained clenched. "So you want me to kick Ranma's ass for you, is that it? Just point me in the right direction. Mr. Tendo."

"No, lad, I've no desire to have you beaten up at the moment," Soun chuckled. "What I want is for you to clarify your intensions towards my daughter. Do you truly care for her, or has it always just been a way to get under Ranma's skin?"

"Yeah, I care for her..." the Lost Boy replied, though left unspoken his conflicted feelings for a certain other girl as well. Technically he was breaking a promise to her just being here now, but that could hardly be his fault... this time, anyway.

"Excellent!" Soun beamed, patting him on the back. "I was rather hoping I could count on you to cheer her up and keep her training on schedule."

"You really mean it?" Ryoga gasped.

"Of course I do," Soun replied resolutely. "The future of the school, and of my daughter of course, is utmost in my thinking. Now tell me, son, how can I get a hold of your parents? We've got some things to talk about as well, I believe."

"Um," Ryoga blinked, mind awhirl at all the changes happening in his life today. "I, uh, don't really know, to be honest. They're away from home as much as I am, near as I can tell."

"Hmm... guess I'll have to work on that end of things, I suppose. No matter." Soun replied, then extinguished his cigarette. With cupped hands he gathered a little bit of water from the furo and wet his hair, mussing it slightly. "Guess I'll leave you to a nice soak then, my boy."

"Thank you, Mr. Tendo." he replied with enthusiasm.

"Don't think this comes without strings though, lad," the master of the home cautioned. "For starters, you –are- going to tell her the truth about her pet... right?"

"Uh, yeah I, um, always kinda planned to... eventually."

"Well, plan to do so soon," Soun replied as he shut the door to the outer changing area. "And while you're at it, don't mention that I knew you were cursed, okay?"

Ryoga relaxed for a bit longer in the all-encompassing heat of the furo, then rose and changed himself back into a piglet. He said that he'd tell Akane, but didn't plan to do so just yet. He'd definitely have to before she learned to project her chi though, he decided. It would be much safer that way, in case she took it badly.

He set off once again on a quest to find his love, this time making sure to turn around if he saw anything outside. His aimless tour of the house passed a frighteningly cheerful Soun and Kasumi, looking far calmer then she had recently been. The lost pig continued about the place, passing through the family room, twice ending up buried in Happosai's treasure horde, and stopping for a moment to respect the shrine from the dojo. He eventually found the staircase, and only had to wander into Ranma's old room once before he found the right door.

After some acrobatic twisting while hanging from the doorknob by his teeth, he at last heard the familiar snores of his beloved. She twisted about her bed in a fury, apparently having one of those dangerous dreams again. He stood by and waited out her slumbering barrage of attacks on invisible foes, waiting until she wore herself out before hopping up to the former battlefield of her mattress.

Satisfied that he was safe for the moment, P-Chan burrowed his way under the covers. She reflexively hugged him to her chest, and he drifted off to sleep in comfortable bliss.

**

* * *

**

A single eye snapped open, squinted and blinked at the sudden reintroduction of light to its world, then rolled about its socket in search of the disturbance that had ended its rest. Finding nothing out of place in the immediate area, it closed again.

Genma yawned, scratched himself, and rolled over on his futon away from the slightly open exterior panel door. If anything was wrong, the boy would handle it anyway... no reason for him to get up yet. Briefly he wondered just what he had done to earn Nodoka's displeasure this time, the reason why he was sleeping on a traveling bed on the living room floor of his own house, before deciding it was pointless to speculate. Who can tell what women are thinking? Or if they think, for that matter, rather than just react?

Ranma might, he thought with a smirk, which would go a long way towards explaining how... bitchy... his son was acting since China. Sure the boy might occasionally be stuck in the body of girl, but that was no reason to start letting silly, petty things like emotions cloud his judgment... especially if they drove him towards blaming his innocent, well-meaning father for even more of his own shortcomings. Surely Ranma would be blaming him for the failure of his insane 'plan', as if he had anything to do with it in the first place; even more reason to stop thinking and go back to sleep, he realized.

His intention was brought up short by an anguished scream from upstairs. Another one, he realized, ascertaining the reason for his wakefulness. Great... that damned dream again. If Genma had made any mistakes in his life, surely the Neko-Ken was the biggest. Ever since the pamphlet had so cruelly tricked him into using its forbidden training methods it was rare indeed for him to get a week straight of decent sleep. The boy's screams, the echoing testament to his great weakness. For a martial artist this was far worse than the Jusenkyo curse; that was just a new limitation to overcome coupled with an entire world of new possibilities and forms to exploit. The Neko-Ken, however, impaired his fighting ability greatly by giving him a weakness. Sure the boy -could- use a cat in a fight to gain the upper hand, but more often than not the sudden appearance of a feline was enough to send him running away like a coward, the thought of using it to his advantage never even occurring.

Another scream finally roused the corpulent man to action. With an annoyed grunt he shook off his coverings and sat up, pausing to take note of the baleful glare from the room's other occupant.

"Hey, I dragged off that... whatever the heck that was in the back yard," Ryu snapped. "Why don't you go be a good host for once and shut off that racket?" The young man rolled over and adjusted his blanket.

Genma tiredly lumbered up the steps to the boy's room, intending to end his pitiful nightmare by tossing him out the window... a surprisingly effective means of dealing with the problem he'd long ago discovered. Hopefully the lack of a convenient pond to toss him into wouldn't render it ineffective.

What he found behind the door, however, caused him to reexamine his prior thoughts. A dream about cats wouldn't help explain why his son was floating in mid air, surrounded by a black halo of chi, or slowly changing genders without the apparent influence of a source of water. This was a whole new kind of problem, and one he really didn't want to have to deal with.

In retrospect, it was probably an even bigger mistake to unseal his techniques, to reveal them all those years ago to his sister's husband. He well knew what he was doing when he handed over the scroll of Yamasen-Ken, how it would unmake the man and destroy all he still loved. Somehow the accidental death of his sister, which he blamed the foolish man for due to negligence, was enough motivation for him to look into that blackness once more.

He wished now that he had been less of a coward when the young Kumon first came calling, that he had met the challenge personally rather than putting Ranma into the middle of the problem and once again allowing his secret free. This rolling black halo that seemed to swallow his son whole was somehow connected to those damnable techniques, he was sure. Just looking at it now was enough to tempt him to unseal his techniques again. To take what was rightfully his from whoever might be presumptuous enough to keep it from him, and cut them down without a second thought if they resisted.

Ranma screamed again in anguish, the change happening rapidly and repeatedly this time without pause, giving his pain an unnatural warbling pitch.

The sound snapped his train of thought and sent him staggering back into the hallway, clutching his head. He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes, focused on shutting out the dark whispers. No, he wouldn't give in again, nor would he stand idly by. Through him the forbidden techniques had destroyed two generations of his family, but it would not do the same to his son!

He sprang forward, but as he crossed the threshold of the door arcs of black lightning shot towards him, numbing and chilling the flesh where it struck. Feeling his knees and ankles begin to buckle, he threw all his remaining strength into a horizontal leap, carrying him straight into the maw of his foe. His stomach turned as he passed the edge of the aura and he choked down bile, but kept the presence of mind to grapple Ranma's now stilled form as he passed near. On contact his arms and chest went cold and shivered uncontrollably, but he held on long enough for his momentum to slam his son into the wall before both crumpled to a pile on the floor.

"What the... Get offa me, Pop!"

He ignored the comment, instead pausing to take stock of the boy's condition: Male, and apparently staying that way for the moment. Not glowing or otherwise radiating bizarre energy. Not screaming. Bound to obey the laws of gravity. A complete success!

A sharp blow to the back of his ribs brought his attention back to the situation at hand.

"I'm really not in the mood for one of your surprise sparring sessions today pop... even if you really need it", the younger Saotome growled, then suppressed a yawn. "Geez, at least make sure you get a good wrap-up on me before you use this stupid cradle attack. If I wasn't such a nice guy you'd be missing a kidney right now."

"You ungrateful little..." the large man sputtered as he released his grip and rolled backwards into a crouch, then stood. "I just saved you, and that's the thanks I get?"

"Saved me from a decent night's rest, maybe," Ranma drawled, brushing himself off.

"Sure, you always scream and change sexes repeatedly during a good nap. My mistake."

"You... wait, you triggered my curse?" Ranma paused for a second, then grinned. "Heh, no wonder I had that stupid dream."

"I didn't say I changed you," Genma stated bluntly. "I said you were changing... repeatedly, and without water. Excuse me for showing a bit of concern."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Ranma protested.

"Actually it makes perfect sense," Cologne interjected from her perch on the windowsill, "if you are unfortunate enough to understand what is actually occurring."

His son took on a deceptively neutral posture... a sign that he expected trouble. "I take it you and Shampoo had a chat?"

"We did," the woman admitted as she hopped fully into the room, "and I must admit I'm somewhat undecided how to feel about the way your little game played out... however, that's not why I'm here. Ranma, we're going back to the village."

Ranma shrugged. "Well, have a nice trip then. It was nice knowing ya and all."

"Perhaps you misunderstood me," the elder explained. "I meant 'we' as in you and I. Grab whatever things you feel are necessary and let's be off."

"What?" father and son both snapped, then glanced at each other warily.

Cologne let out a frustrated huff. "I did some research last night after we talked about your curse and your dreams. The short version is that your body is being invaded by a powerful demon and I need to get you back to the village where I'll have more resources to draw on."

"Are you out of..." the young man began to complain, before being cut off.

"So the black aura the boy's been throwing around lately is because of this demon?" Genma interjected, hopefully. A demon was something he could fight and kill... and something that wasn't his fault. Not like his sealed techniques, which became harder to resist abusing with every use, like a common drug. Even now, after decades of ignoring them, he was still tempted from time to time to unseal them, even if only to win a sparring match. And if what Ryu had said was true, Ranma had developed the techniques to a higher level than he had... "And not because of my sealed arts?"

Cologne looked at him quizzically. "No, Mr. Saotome, not unless you learned them while training at Jusenkyo." She paused before continuing, "Though the talents for Ki manipulation you passed on to your son certainly could help explain why the demon chose him out of all the available hosts. Regardless, time spent talking about the problem rather than working on it is a waste we can't afford."

"Fine then, just let me find my pack," he conceded.

"I said I'm taking Ranma, not you," The old woman snapped. "I'll have more than enough trouble explaining his unwed return to the council without having his bumbling oaf of a father in tow. No thank you."

"And how do we know this isn't just a last scheme to drag me off to get hitched to Shampoo?" Ranma snapped. "This whole thing sure sounds suspicious to me."

"Shampoo will not be traveling with us. I've given her several tasks here in Nerima that will keep her busy for the time being."

Genma grunted and his eyes narrowed. "Shampoo isn't the only Amazon I'm worried about. Under no circumstance is my only son running off into another country with you without supervision."

"Fine then," Cologne snapped, poking her cane across the room. "I'll bring her along."

"That is acceptable," Nodoka agreed simply, standing in the hall outside the doorway.

"You can't be serious!" Genma roared, turning to face his spouse. "You don't know the first thing about these people or the dangers of the landscape!"

"Somebody's trying to sleep down here..." Ryu yelled from downstairs, and was quickly ignored.

"Pop's right, Mom," Ranma agreed, though without the anger. "Hikin' across China is no picnic."

"Despite your father's comments, I'll have you know I am fully capable of handling myself, Son." She unwrapped the handle on the family blade as she spoke, which caused her husband to swallow reflexively. "Besides, if the Amazons are a matriarchy wouldn't I be in a much better position to see to your safety than your father?"

"Quite so... motherhood is a highly honored trait among our people," the elder replied.

"But Cherry Dove..." Genma whined, resorting in his desperation to silly old pet names.

"But nothing, Husband," his wife replied coldly. "You took my son from me for the better part of eighteen years... is it so hard to let me take care of him for just a little while?"

"What about Happosai? You should at least wait until after his funeral," he reasoned. "I'll go with Ranma and you can catch up later, when everything is taken care of."

"Why would she care?" Ranma puzzled aloud.

"I'm sure you're more than capable of bagging, burning, and burying the old bastard, dear. If you get confused ask Soun for help."

"How can you say that about your grandfather, the man who raised you!" the large man demanded.

Ranma's mouth fell open. He staggered back a step and sat down on the edge of the bed, his skin suddenly sickly and pale.

"You know I was adopted, Genma, and I hardly think any of his antics can seriously be considered properly raising me," Nodoka snapped, though her eyes lost their sharp focus for a moment.

Cologne hopped over to the bed and patted the young man's shoulder. "It's not as bad as you thought... at least you're not blood related to him."

"You're still his family and Ranma is still his chosen heir!" Genma barked, hoping his desperation wasn't showing through. "It would be extremely improper for both of you not to attend his final ceremony."

"Elder, this would be a crisis situation of sorts, yes?" Genma's wife asked, still staring at him.

"Oh yes, most definitely so," Cologne agreed.

"Then there is nothing to discuss; the crisis takes precedence," Ranma's mother stated with finality, turning her back on the stammering man. "If you'll excuse us for a moment to pack, we can meet you elsewhere."

"Yes, that's fine... I'll meet you at the subway station in thirty minutes. We'll take the southbound rail to Haneda Airport."

"But that airport only handles domestic flights," Nodoka questioned.

The old woman cackled and waved the concern away. "Oh, don't worry about the details... It's already arranged."

"Don't I get any say in this?" Genma snapped.

His son looked between the two women, then shrugged. "Nope, doesn't look like it, Pop."

"Well if I can't go, at least take your cousin along to watch your backs," he demanded.

"And what makes you think he'd even want to go along?" Ranma snapped.

"I don't..." Ryu called from below, "I just want to sleep!"

"See, Pop?"

"Um... but you still have to train him, right?" Genma added hopefully.

"I thought you didn't want me to," Ranma replied with a sardonic grin. "Besides, I already taught him the basics. He can work out the rest of it from what I did last time we fought."

"Ranma," Nodoka interceded, "Perhaps it would be better if he came along. Not that I doubt the sincerity of the Amazons, of course..."

"Of course," the elder replied, with a hooded gaze.

"...But you did promise to train him, not to leave him to his own devices. It would be improper to leave the job unfinished, and at any rate it would make your father more comfortable."

"Not by much," Genma grumbled.

"Fine, I guess I can always use a sparring partner anyway," Ranma consented. With a smirk the young man yelled out, "Hey Ryu, pack up your stuff! You can sleep on the plane!"

**Author's Notes:**

Seriously, the next chapter should not have a delay anywhere near this long. I'm actually a little embarrassed at how long I put this off while working on other various non-fanfic projects. For those of you still reading the series despite my excruciatingly slow updates, thank you!

Secondly, following a philosophical debate with reviewer Obsidian-Fox (far and above the little bit in his posted review) in which he convinced me that the argument presented in the last act was flawed, I've decided to rename the previous act "Shuffling the Deck of Fate" and to update the section of the author's notes dealing with the title. No actual story content will be altered, though.

If you got caught up on one of my 'Chinese-ized' names for the Amazons, please note that these versions should really only show up when a character is speaking of another in Chinese (or, in the case of Mousse's list, for attempted Takahashi-esque comedic effect). If you notice an example of this use in description, however, please let me know so I can fix that.

Also, while I don't know how my long absence will affect readers, I do know that I've lost several of my pre-readers. If this chapter felt a bit 'ehh' compared to previous ones... that's probably a big part of it. To combat this problem, I ask that anyone who would like to sign up to pre-read for the next chapter please let me know via email. This isn't just a way to see the work early and get your name on the credits, however... I really do want serious help in the areas of:

1) catching spelling & grammar errors that I and spellchecker missed.  
2) insuring believable characterization (not fanon based)  
3) improving readability / clearness of description / sentence flow  
4) feedback on plot/actions/theme/jokes/whatever else comes up

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2 (reclaiming my former position... with probation)

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	11. A Rhythm in the Flames: Act 4, pt 2

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall**

A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 4: A Rhythm in the Flames**

Part 2

**Pre-readers:**

Aondehafka

Edward Simmons

Marquis Le'Quack

Zorknot

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

Following the hectic night of Ranma's 'brilliant' fiancée ultimatum, things cooled down a bit for the jilted girls. Ukyo wandered back to her home/restaurant alone, where she found her new Amazon husband/annoyance waiting at the door and agreed, reluctantly, to let him stay the night. Akane and Nabiki went straight home and to sleep, and so missed Soun's attempts to sneak Ryoga back into the house... and perhaps more. Shampoo took out her frustrations on training equipment until the racket woke Cologne. The elder gave Shampoo instructions to settle all their remaining business in Nerima, then left to check in on Ranma.

A good thing, too, considering that Ranma was at that moment fighting a desperate battle in his recurring dreamscape against the mysterious Norou; a battle he lost. After the one-sided confrontation the demon began to explain his case, but was interrupted when Genma, seeing his son suffering under the demon's influence, woke him. Cologne soon appeared, explained that she may know what is happening to him, and suggested that she take Ranma back to the Amazon village. After much discussion, they eventually agreed that she would also bring along Ranma's mother and cousin, Ryu... but his father would have to stay behind.

* * *

A wise man once said that every day is an opportunity for learning. By that standard, 'Awesome' Taro was a very wise man. Why, already this morning he had learned the following:

Children can sometimes have trouble distinguishing between an injured, unconscious person and a corpse.

Given enough leverage... say, by way of a fallen branch, even a young child can land a very painful blow to an expert martial artist who isn't ready for it.

Someone in the Saotome residence thinks that sheer nylon garments are acceptable bandages for open wounds.

Removing a nylon from a clotted wound, such as a bloodied and broken nose, is incredibly painful and has a good chance of tearing the clot loose.

Kodachi wasn't kidding about the traps in the yard.

Thus the previously mentioned Kuno found him in his current bedraggled state; a blood-smeared mess slouched at the bottom of a moderately deep pit sealed by steel bars.

"I take it you found him, then?" asked the gymnast rhetorically, "...and Ranma won again, of course. Bastard."

Normally he would have taken her final remark as an insult, but Kodachi seemed far from hostile. Her eyes were sunken and dark-ringed. Pale cheeks, though dry, held faint traces of redness. Her unbound hair drifted and tangled in the breeze.

"He just got a lucky shot, nailed me while I was changing forms..." Taro began hesitantly, unsure of her mood.

"Oh, he got lucky? I see," Kodachi interrupted in a surprisingly quiet tone. "Funny, Ranma seems to get lucky in just about every fight. At least if one listens to the losers, that is..." She laughed softly, completely unlike every time he'd previously heard.

"All right, so maybe I underestimated him a little... I never really fought him one-on-one before though, just so you know. Every other time he had help, so I thought he'd be easy. Next time I'll get him for sure." She was still laughing, though he wasn't sure if it was directed more at him or herself.

"Oh, save your macho posturing for later," she said, producing a remote control device, causing the bars of the cage to retract. With a sudden whip-like crack she lassoed and tossed the young Chinese man back up to ground level with a thin length of ribbon, depositing him roughly at her feet. "I'll deal with him myself, at the proper time."

"But you said..."

"Forget what I said. I simply changed my mind, as is a woman's prerogative."

"Hey, whatever," he relented with a shrug. It wasn't like he needed her permission to fight Saotome. "Couldn't you have gotten me out of there a little easier?" he complained, sitting up.

"Yes," she replied, "but I could have chosen to do far worse. Just be thankful you managed to blunder into one of the more merciful traps... not that you should have come across any of them after I warned you."

"I thought you were joking about them... it's hard to tell when you're being serious." He watched her eyes, noting a slight lack of focus. Was she high on something?

"I am always serious... except when I'm not," she quipped as she crouched next to him, frowning. "It appears that your nose will require attention. Here, inhale this."

He looked skeptically at the strange grey powder she held in her hand, but her face showed no ill intent. He leaned down and huffed in a deep breath through his mouth, and immediately began coughing. "What, hurff, what the hell is this stuff?"

"It is a fairly potent mix of chemical tranquilizers that I find comes in quite handy on occasion... mostly GHB, I believe. In small enough doses it's actually rather enjoyable." She wiggled her fingers before his face, letting the last traces of the powder evaporate into the slight breeze. "I managed to convince a pharmacologist that I suffer from seizures, and the fool put me in touch with a source that lets me buy it in bulk."

"I feel, uh, weird... tingly." A sensation not unlike a foot suddenly regaining circulation raced up his spine and through his limbs.

"It will pass soon, and then you'll be mostly unable to move. It usually takes effect quite fast," she whispered, leaning him back to the ground with a gentle shove. "Don't worry, it won't hurt. In fact it should help dull the pain in your nose."

"Iss nat thaa baad, reelliee," he tried to explain, surprised at the heavy slur in his voice. The world dimmed and spun around Kodachi's dark, mischievous eyes.

"No, I meant it will help dim this pain," she explained with a smile. With casual grace she grabbed his misshapen nose and pulled away from his face, slipping it back into proper alignment.

Taro groaned, the closest he could manage to the scream he really wanted to let out. He tried to shove his brutal nursemaid away, but was unable to move his arms more than a short distance. As the pain faded in sharpness a wave of dizziness replaced it, and his eyes came unfocused.

"No no, silly boy... if you aren't careful I'll have to set it again," she half-threatened, then dropped her voice to a deeper, richer tone. "Unless that's what you want, of course... Does pain turn you on?" Her fingers traced across his chest and arms with subtle pressure, kneading his already slack muscles.

He managed to shake his head with some effort. Hopefully she wouldn't get mixed signals from the only part of his body that did seem freely capable of movement at the moment. He was honestly a bit scared of this girl right now... and, despite himself, he rather liked it.

"Hmm... too bad," she sighed, then abruptly stood up. "Well, I feel like enjoying a nice hot bath. When you decide to stop bleeding you can try to reach the house again. I suppose that if you are quick enough, you might even be able to join me before my brother or father return..." she teased, and sauntered off up the hill. His eyes tried to track her, but she quickly dissolved into just another part of the blur.

Taro closed his eyes against the dizzying colored swirl the world was quickly becoming. He focused on the rhythm of his pounding heart, trying to regain some sense of centeredness and control as his blood rushed in two rather different directions... neither particularly helpful at the moment. He tried to move his arm again, this time with a little more success.

He pondered the situation as he lay paralyzed in the grassy yard, surrounded by kami-only-knows how many booby traps. This girl was either going to screw him again, try to kill him... or possibly both. Obviously he'd underestimated her when they'd first met, something he'd have to keep in mind for later. Her increasingly overbearing manner wasn't going to fly for long, either. Why, he asked of his strangely reluctant mind, was he even contemplating sticking around?

"Don't take too long, however," her voice trailed down from unknown heights, now traced with frost. "I am likely to be rather upset if yet another man disappoints me."

He smirked and clenched a fist, feeling the effects of the drug already beginning to fade. Ah... of course; the vulnerability, the barely acknowledged need beneath her threat was unmistakable. How sweet breaking her in properly would be, and how easy now that Ranma's games were made clear. He decided that the next time he fought the young man he'd thank him first... then nail the bastard while he was confused. Kodachi thought she'd found in him a plaything, but he'd have the leash on her own neck soon enough.

Well, as soon as he could walk again, that is.

* * *

"Not quite what you expected, eh?" Cologne asked, snapping him back to wakefulness.

"What?" Ranma replied, followed by a deep sigh. The cracked vinyl bench seats weren't at all comfortable, but he could easily admit to sleeping in worse places. At least the engines had finally settled into a constant drone, something easy to block out.

"This seaplane, truly a marvelous invention isn't it? Quite a bit more convenient than swimming across the ocean and hiking to the valley, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, letting his eyes drift closed once again.

A sharp poke in the ribs roused his anger. "Damn it, what the hell do ya want?" he spat.

"I want you to stay awake, obviously," the elder replied, setting her staff across her lap. "If the demon visits you in dreams then I can't allow you to have any."

"So you expect me ta just stay awake forever? Yeah, that's really gonna happen. Besides, how am I supposed to fight this thing off if I'm exhausted?"

"Oh, enough with the drama, boy. Once we reach the village I'll prepare a tincture to grant you dreamless sleep. Until then, you'll just have to show a little gumption."

Ryu snorted in his sleep, scratched his nose, and fell limp once again.

Ranma growled at the sight, which drew the attention of his mother. He shook his head to indicate it was nothing, and she, after smiling, went back to oiling the blade of the family sword. He felt a chill run up his spine as he looked into the gleaming metal, almost ghostly black one moment and blazing the next as her ministrations moved it in through the hazy morning light. He supposed it probably was a good idea to bring a weapon along, just in case, but all the same really wished she hadn't.

"Alright then," he began, tearing his eyes from the scene. "If I've gotta stay up then you can at least put the time to use. Tell me about this 'Pale One' you think I've got muckin' around in my head."

"A history lesson to keep Saotome Ranma awake?" she asked, one eyebrow cocked. "From what I hear of your school life, that's a fool's errand."

"Well, liven it up then. Leave out the dates and crap and just get ta the big stuff, the fireworks," he offered.

"Well... I suppose I'll have to simplify it quite a bit. This trip is hardly long enough to hold three thousand years of history, after all," she chuckled.

"I asked for tha goods on this demon, not your life story," Ranma cracked. He caught the expected cane strike to his head with a grin, but didn't expect her to pull a second one out of nowhere.

Nodoka glanced their way, but said nothing.

"The foe we face is the oldest charge of the Amazon people, in fact one of the prime reasons for the tribe's existence," she explained as Ranma rubbed his jaw. "Though it certainly predates us by untold eons.

"A little more than three thousand years ago the great Shang Dynasty fell to the barbarous hordes of the Chou. The official Chinese account tells us that the last Lord of Shang, Di Xin, was a weak and immoral man brought down by the mandate of heaven. These men are too preoccupied with maintaining modern power to admit the true role of the supernatural in the affair... that Di Xin was deceived by a treacherous Hujing, a fox spirit much like your kitsune that clouded his mind and corrupted his generals into allying with the nomadic tribes of the West. When the truth was exposed the emperor killed himself out of shame.

"Following this honorless victory, the Chou's king, Wu, made sacrifices of those whose loyalty was not for sale to his patron gods, all of their cursed names long forgotten. Many fled this tyranny, of course, leading to the first colonization of the land now known as Korea. One group in particular however, consisting of the emperor's private guard and his court of favored women, all of them prime targets for sacrifice, fled in the most unlikely of directions; they traveled by night, straight through the heart of the enemy lands into the forbidden mountains of the far West."

"So that's the Amazons, huh?" Ranma interrupted, then stifled a yawn. "So what's the point? This demon is one of these dark gods of the Chou Dynasty?"

"Oh, not at all... it's likely far older than that. I just wanted to give you some context for the story, to make it more real to you."

Satisfied with her work, Nodoka sheathed the blade and sat it across her lap, turning her attention to the story now as well.

"Well, all I see ya doing is making it longer," Ranma replied, suppressing a yawn.

"It's a long flight, as you said," she snapped with annoyance. "Have a little faith, Ranma. I'm just coming to the first round of 'fireworks' as you said." When he failed to add a pithy comment, she continued.

"The group knew these mountains would be safe, for the Chou feared their ancient reputation as a magical land protected by great beasts. They had no doubt of their worthiness to enter the realm, supposedly protected by the soldiers of the Yellow Emperor. What they found instead was a being of fire, a titanic form of wrath and power in the shape of a great bird."

Seeing the question forming in her audience's mind, Cologne shook her head. "No, it was not your young bird king, Sa Fu Rong. They met his father, Zhu Rong, the god of flames and enforcer of heavenly justice.

"The fire god was once charged with destroying a great demon known as Gong Gong, an enormous serpent-beast with a single great horn, and shrouded in deadly black mists. During the battle the demon's head was slammed into one of the great celestial pillars with such force that it is said to have caused all of heaven to tilt.

"The blow not only dazed the demon, but it released a flood of sacred waters from beneath the column. Zhu Rong thrust the great serpent into the pooling waters, then boiled it alive with his unquenchable flames. Only then did he realize that his foe was not as he appeared. As the evil influence melted away and was sealed into the magical waters, the fire god realized that his foe had actually been a friend.

Huang Long, the great yellow earth dragon, lay battered and broken in the sacred waters. He thanked the fire god for freeing him from his wretched state, manipulated by dark forces to commit his crimes against the heavenly order. He swore, as penance for the weakness of spirit that allowed his corruption, to guard over this pool and keep its prisoner contained."

"That's great and all, but why does it matter?" Ranma complained.

"Boy..." she began, and for a moment he thought she was about to smack him again. He was saved, however, as the cabin shook suddenly and the engines whined in a higher pitch for a moment.

"Sorry about that, Elder," the pilot, a bulky Chinese man with an unusually broad forehead and flattened nose, said with a sheepish glance over his shoulder. "Hit a rough spot there. Turbulence."

"No matter, Ji Táng... I expected the occasional bump," she replied with a half smile, followed by a roll of her eyes when the flat-faced man turned back to his work. "Ranma, the legend I just told you is tied directly into the problem we now face. Think about it for a moment... A mountain shattered by a god of flame. A demon covered in black mists. Magic water that reveals hidden truths when heated. Now, does any of this sound familiar to you?"

He paused a moment in thought before answering. "So... you're sayin' that's where Jusenkyo came from? Saffron's pop made it when he beat the demon; a demon with a black aura like mist..."

"...or was it an aura of destructive ki like the one you've developed? You said you fought Saffron in a mountain hall, the source of the springs, that the destruction of the battle shattered the mountaintop and altered the flow of the waters. In effect, you reenacted the battle of so long ago with just one important change; this time the fire god fell."

Ranma's mother cleared her throat. Her eyes took on a strange, cold shine, not unlike the blade before. "So, you're saying that my son has adopted the mantle of this beast? That he's destined to pick up where the former failed and bring the heavens crashing down?"

"I assure you, I won't allow that to happen," the elder replied.

"Yeah, no way that's happening ta me, Mom," Ranma answered with confidence. "Norou Mizumei... 'curse of dark water'. Geez, I shoulda figured that out right from the start. Course, I couldn't remember the dreams so good at first either."

"Regardless, the recent past is less important than the history of the tribe," Cologne remarked, "and the knowledge of the enemy it contains.

"The earliest Amazons encountered the fire god, who related to them the tale of the demon. Seeing their plight he offered them entrance to the valley to which they had come, and in exchange charged them with safeguarding Gong Gong's prison from the trespasses of evil men. They trained hard, men and women alike, for they took this sacred duty very seriously. They learned powerful new arts of combat from the blessed world around them, and celebrated their benefactors' greatness by creating the Hiryu Shoten Ha."

"So when you taught it to me..." he wondered.

"...I was, in effect, adopting you as a full Amazon warrior, an honor which Shampoo, because of her failure to kill or marry you, will likely have to wait several years before attaining." The elder paused to let the gravity of that statement settle in, then pressed on.

"Many years passed, and the village grew strong. Eventually Zhu Rong was called away, ordered to attend to other matters by his August Jade Personage no doubt. But before he left, he blessed the greatest female warrior of the village with the gift of his essence. She eventually gave birth to Saffron, the radiant child who would soon grow to become king of the tribe... too soon. Knowing his heritage and witnessing his incredible might, many Amazons worshiped him as a god. They were fearful of his wrath, and so gave the boy too much power for his young mind to wield responsibly.

"This mistake nearly cost us everything.

"One day the patrol found a strange man, pale as moonlight, thin as dry bone, and dressed in a cloak that flowed through many colors like water in shadowed light, wandering towards the village from within the valley. He showed no fear or aggression towards the guards, and because of this they were unsure what to do with him. They brought this man before Saffron, so that the king might decide what should be done."

"I assume that this was the demon in question?" Nodoka interrupted. "But how did it manage to slip its bonds? What power or happenstance released it?"

"It was one of the demons, to be sure... we suspect perhaps even the original, though nothing is certain," the matriarch replied. "Over the years other demons had been brought to the sacred pool to be contained, even dark things from foreign lands. On some rare occasions it is recorded that one of these things escaped. Our scholars have come up with many theories over the years, though the one I prefer is that an outsider somehow slipped past the patrols and disturbed the waters in some fashion, becoming possessed by the evil spirits of the waters just as the great dragon was enticed by the spirit of Gong Gong.

"Regardless, the young king, all of fourteen years of age, became quite enthralled by the Pale One, the name by which we have come to know this creature. His mysterious presence, his soft-spoken paradoxical advice, the calm that could not be roused by any barbs and a half-smile that projected no humor... all these traits led Saffron to take the stranger on as advisor despite his still questionable origins. Though many distrusted him at first, the confidence of Saffron and the stranger's beneficial public council eased all concerns.

"Under his tutelage, the young godling soon became more brazen and demanding, and began to send out raiding parties to expand the influence of the tribe. Soon he was master not of a protected valley, but rather a growing empire with several villages of outsiders held in thrall. At some point the Pale One revealed to the young king a problem; his rule was not uncontested, for the great yellow dragon waited beneath the heart of his domain... gathering its strength and biding its time before returning.

"Saffron in his madness led his warriors into the dragon's lair, and he ordered them to attack it while it slept. Its response was vicious, rending the human retainers to pieces with its powerful claws, even though their blows barely scratched its hide. When the dragon saw king Saffron it momentarily mistook him for his father, and in its hesitation the godling struck it a grievous blow."

"Bah, dragons ain't a big deal," Ranma drawled. "I killed one just the other day. I don't think I even needed to fight dirty to win, either."

The Amazon was taken aback. "You... how could you do such a thing, you foolish boy? Don't you realize that dragons are benevolent creatures, set by the gods in ancient days to keep safe those things and places which humans ought not trifle with? This is a great wrong you have committed, Ranma."

"Oh yeah?" Ranma snapped in defiance, "so I guess you don't enjoy still being alive? 'Cause that's the only alternative, Old Ghoul... the Orochi made it pretty clear that if I wanted the moss of life I'd have to go through it to get it, and it sure wasn't holding back. Hell, it attacked me first! Benevolent creature... yeah, my ass it was."

Nodoka was shocked as well, but not unpleasantly so. "You killed the Orochi, my son? Oh, to think you've proven yourself the equal in battle of Susano-o himself!"

"Wait a moment," Cologne interrupted. "You said you don't -think- you fought dirty. Explain."

"I, um, don't really remember what happened, not clearly anyway," he said, reaching for his absent braid. "But Ryu said I kicked its butt real good, and I wasn't hurt at all. All the dragon gave me was this new haircut."

"Then I can only assume that the Pale One's influence is already stronger on you than we realized." Cologne hesitated before continuing. "I do not approve of this, Ranma, but what's done is done. It appears I am hardly in a position to complain, and in any case it was not your fault. If nothing else, the symmetry of your recent battle to the legends only further proves my theory.

"For hours Saffron fought Huang Long in the rocky depths the dragon called home. The yellow dragon was still but a shadow of his former power since his great battle with Zhu Rong. Outmatched, he tried to reason with the young king that he meant no harm, but in his tainted heart Saffron knew no reason, no mercy.

"Saffron returned to the village alone, but victorious. He returned, but the villagers were afraid of what they saw; their vibrant young king still coated in the steaming blood of his kill, even glorifying in his savagery. They shied away from him, but the Pale One greeted him with mocking laughter instead.

"'Foolish boy' the demon mocked him, 'you've killed your greatest ally at the barest whim of your sworn foe! Ha! I was only the demon of the cursed pool, but now I will be a demon known throughout the world of men because of you! Come, young godling... let your strength be the first I claim this time!'"

"Thus Saffron, already battle weary, was attacked by the demon we now face. His every blow seemed to steal the young king's strength bit by bit, as if he were striking his soul rather than his body. The phoenix king fought back, of course, but more often than not the demon disappeared just before the attack could land, only to resume the fight from another location."

"Yeah, that's the guy all right," Ranma grumbled, suppressing a yawn.

"They fought on land and in the air, but eventually the boy king grew weary. The demon grappled Saffron, and drained his life away in earnest. However, in his giddiness and triumph the demon made a critical mistake. With the last of his strength Saffron hurled them both from the sky, tumbling with his foe in an iron grip even as his soul was torn away until they both crashed... back into the sacred pool.

"The Pale One struggled and panicked, but the phoenix did not release his grasp. He gave forth one final burst of his flames, channeling all his remaining life into the final attack. The waters boiled and the earth shifted, leaving only the pools we now know as Jusenkyo where before there was a great lake. The young king's sacrifice reforged his father's seal, and by dividing the waters he weakened the demons trapped within, so that from this point on those who tested the waters were cursed but not possessed."

"And is this why your people grew lax in protecting this accursed place after such an ordeal?" Nodoka asked. "After such a calamity I would have thought your efforts would be redoubled, and yet my son and husband were allowed to blunder upon this prison without your people's knowledge. How do you explain such negligence?"

"Much has changed since these ancient days, and as I said I myself believed these tales mere folklore until last night," Cologne admitted. "Our society was left shattered and leaderless, and the records of history became less detailed for many years afterwards."

"It is said that an infant was either found or born who resembled the fallen Saffron in his youth, and some of the villagers proclaimed this infant child their god-king reborn. The others felt they had suffered enough for their former leader's folly and refused to accept this, driving out the believers. It would seem that recent history has proven the cultists, presumably the ancestors of the phoenix tribe you encountered, were correct.

"Later still, a group of male warriors tried to return the tribe to its previous expansionist ways. These foolhardy men rose up against the council (composed of both men and women in those days), and attempted to seize control of the tribe through force of arms. Though the battle was fierce, they too were eventually driven out. We thought them dead or forgotten, but Prince Herb and his followers claim that they survived, through degenerate means, to become the Musk."

"And having driven out or killed so many of the capable men," Nodoka finished, "the women were forced to take charge. Thus your... Amazon lifestyle, I assume."

"Quite so," Cologne nodded, "though I suggest there is nothing unnatural about our ways, as you seem to believe. In your own civilization is it not the women who truly run the households?"

The Saotome matriarch smiled, but her eyes were cold.

"So really you aren't three thousand years old. Your culture, I mean," Ranma amended. "The Amazons only go back to whenever the Musk left."

"In some ways," the elder snapped, cutting him off as she refocused her glare. "But what is important to remember is that we are the only ones who kept to the old ways, the original pact with Zhu Rong."

"...Who you thought was just a stupid legend until yesterday," Ranma replied a smirk.

"You would do well not to rouse my anger," the elder warned, "especially when the three thousand years of history you mock may be your only hope."

Ranma said nothing, though a hint of his grin remained until Nodoka gave him a mildly reproving look.

Ryu snorted and rolled over, still oblivious.

Cologne looked out the window at the vast expanse of blue, and sighed. "Now I've talked long enough, though we've still a long way to go. So, who else has a story to share?"

"Uh, well it's not really a, ya know, story, exactly," Ji Táng offered amiably. "More like, well, just this really long joke I heard the other day. I don't really get it, but the guy who told it sure seemed to think it was darned funny..."

Cologne closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Yes, a very long way to go," she sighed.

* * *

"Nabiki..."

She was awake. This felt like a generally bad idea, so she rolled over. Perhaps she was just dreaming she was awake? Gee, what a lousy dream.

"Nabiki, it's time for lunch. I know you're still tired, but if don't get you up now you'll never get to sleep at a reasonable time tonight."

"You aren't going to leave, are you?" the exhausted girl deadpanned.

"Nope," Kasumi replied cheerily.

With a heavy sigh she rolled back to face the intruder and narrowly opened her eyes. "Fine..." she yawned, stretching in cat-like fashion before sitting up. "Can you make me some strong coffee, sis?"

"It's already brewing," Kasumi replied with a wink before strolling out towards Akane's room, no doubt to continue her reign of horrible cheerfulness.

Yawning again, Nabiki rose from her bed and stretched again, her eyes closing as she let her head roll back. She rubbed her eyes free of grit as she plodded down the hall to the small half-bath she shared with her sisters. She flinched after turning on the light, more from the mirror than the illumination; she was sporting the worst case of bed-head she'd ever seen, fully one side of her head now home to a gravity-defying cowlick while the other side of her hair was practically etched on her cheek.

After a few splashes of water, several painful passes of a brush through her tangled locks, and a quick change from her sleepwear into baggy, comfortable clothing, she was finally ready to go downstairs. Nabiki really wanted a long soak in the furo, but the wafting scent of liquid caffeine proved the more effective lure for now.

Kasumi was just finishing the lunch spread, apparently choosing a fairly routine meal today. Akane, still dressed in her clothes from the night before, sat at her usual place next to her father, apparently deciding that it wasn't worth the effort to look presentable yet. Soun smiled as the last of his daughters joined the table.

Nabiki took her usual seat next to Kasumi and immediately took a sip of the steaming beverage waiting before her, smiling as the bitter liquid lent her its warmth. She set it back down and looked across the table to find nothing... just the vacant space where Ranma used to sit. She found herself glaring at the space in futile annoyance, but came back to the present when Kasumi nudged her and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Lunch proceeded in relative silence, with only Kasumi attempting to spark conversation. Akane grunted once, then went back to concentrating on her dish of noodles and vegetables. Even Soun seemed preoccupied, eating at a very restrained pace and occasionally glancing at the hallway door.

"Ryoga my boy! Come, have a seat!"

The tone changed rapidly when Ryoga strolled uncertainly into the room and sat at Ranma's place. Akane flushed and tried without success to improve her appearance. Soun ignored this, and beamed a smile at the boy while Kasumi went back into the kitchen to fetch another place setting. Nabiki contented herself to glance between the latecomer and her father.

"So, what brings you here today, Ryoga?" Kasumi asked as she handed him a spare plate.

"I, uh," the boy mumbled, fidgeting with his bandana.

"I ran into the lad this morning, and invited him over," Soun replied for him. "Suppose I should have brought you myself though, eh, considering the occasion."

"What occasion?" Akane puzzled.

"Why, your engagement of course," the Tendo patriarch replied merrily.

Kasumi dropped her chopsticks, while Akane snapped hers.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Akane demanded, slamming the shattered remains of her utensils on the table and rising to her feet. She glared at her father then turned on Ryoga, who backed away wide-eyed.

"I didn't know he meant to take it that fast, I swear!" the boy pleaded.

Nabiki sighed and rubbed her temples in anticipation of a headache. "Honestly Daddy, have you learned nothing in the last two years?" Kasumi gave her a reproachful look at the comment, but her father apparently ignored the comment completely.

"Now Akane, there's no need to be so shy..." Soun explained as the girl in question stalked menacingly towards her fiancé/prey. "Ryoga here is a fine, responsible young man, and he takes quite a fancy to you. Since he's helping you train and you two already seem to get along, I thought it would only make sense to bring him into the school so the two of you can take over the dojo."

"So this wasn't your idea?" Akane demanded, prompting Ryoga to shake his head vigorously. "And you didn't know about this at all?"

Ryoga paused at this question, averted his gaze, and shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Right then... I'll deal with you later," she snapped. She then turned the full burn of her gaze on her father, who cringed and raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Daddy..."

"I thought you'd be happy!" he wailed, burying his face pathetically in his rice.

"One day. You couldn't wait even one full day before handing me off to the next guy in line. Damn it, do I really seem so desperate, Dad? Do you think I'm just so helpless that I have to have some kind of bodyguard with me at all times?"

Kasumi choose the moment to intercede. "I'm glad you didn't end up with Ranma, but breaking that engagement is still a stain on your honor. I'm sure Father was only thinking of your well-being when he decided on this course of action."

"No, that wasn't it..." Soun replied, looking up from his mess. "The dishonor falls only on Ranma as far as I'm concerned. I was thinking of the future of the school; with the Master dead Ranma is actually in charge now. I was hoping that as his chief rival Ryoga could help us take control back from him and salvage what we can of the situation."

"So once again I'm supposed to just go along with whatever you say for the sake of the school, is that it?" Akane demanded.

"The exact same brand of stupidity, now in a shiny new package!" Nabiki quipped with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"It isn't the same this time! I made sure he cared for you, and I know you're good friends with him already."

"But I don't love Ryoga, Dad!" the youngest Tendo snapped. "I love that stupid jerk Ranma!"

Nabiki glanced at the empty spot again, this time with regret.

Ryoga rose mutely and stumbled towards the door.

"You didn't at first, though," Kasumi replied softly, cutting through the tension of the room like an unexpected cool breeze. "In fact you reacted very much like you are now."

"So you're against me on this too, Kasumi?" her youngest sister demanded.

"I'm not against anyone, Akane; I just want you to see that this isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. In time you could learn to love Ryoga, just as Ranma grew on you with time."

"You, um... really think so?" the youngest answered, her anger almost visibly deflating.

"I think he's better for you than Ranma was. As for the rest, perhaps you should talk about it with him instead."

"Nabiki?" the girl asked, turning to the only family member who hadn't advised her yet.

"Honestly?" she began, ignoring a pleading look from her father, "I think Dad's just being a moron again, and his sense of timing is incredibly bad, no doubt."

"So you think I should ignore this engagement idea then?"

"For now, absolutely," she replied confidently, but glanced towards the open door and the sickly greenish hue of light it reflected. "...But then again, you could probably do a lot worse than Ryoga, Sis."

"I... Well, I guess I should go talk to him about all this," Akane replied determinedly. "Don't get too happy though, Dad... I'm not done with you yet."

Soun cringed as she glared at him one last time, then relaxed as she went outside. "Thank you, my daughters, for helping to convince her."

"I didn't do it for your sake, Father," Kasumi snapped. "I agree with Nabiki, you're being a complete idiot. Ryoga may be a better choice than Ranma but he still leaves quite a bit to be desired. I was just trying to get Akane to go out and defuse him. The last thing we need is another crater in the yard or a hole in the wall from either of their childish tantrums."

"Ka, Kasumi," he sputtered, "I was just thinking of the future of the school. Is that really so bad?"

"When you put it above the future of one of your daughters?" Nabiki snarled. "Yeah, you'd best believe it is. Kami, you don't have some random idiot all lined up for me too, do you?"

Soun stumbled for a reply but was saved by the bell. The telephone, to be more precise. He rose awkwardly to answer it while his daughters traded glances and went back to the remains of their lunch.

"Yes?"

"What do you want now? It's not the best time to talk."

"I... yes, in that case I will make the time. Where and when?"

"That's fine. I'll put together something explosive, just in case."

"Oh, I'll bring the girls along. Probably Akane's new fiancé too."

"Yes I'm serious!"

"And whose fault was that? Goodbye!"

Nabiki watched him as he came back, cocking one eyebrow. "Something... explosive?"

"Yes, yes, nothing to worry about," he replied, not-so-subtly using the excuse to escape the conversation. "Saotome just wanted to get all the details ironed out for the Master's funeral tomorrow."

"Typical." Nabiki smirked as he backed out of the room towards the entryway. She didn't really feel up to more arguing at the moment, so instead chose to let her father escape, for now. There were other things to keep in mind here anyway...

Nabiki strolled over to the sliding porch door and cracked it open... just to make sure Akane was okay, of course. She felt a little unsettled, noting that Ryoga was still glowing an ugly shade of yellow-green, but at least he didn't seem as agitated now. More interesting, Akane stood before him in a similar posture, strain evident on her face but not without cause; thin streaks of red light danced around her, and the occasional spark of crimson lightning arced between her outstretched hands.

Obviously she was still angry, but at least she was putting it to some use this time. Ryoga was good for something after all. Well, maybe.

* * *

A sudden noise downstairs startled the Amazon, snapping her instantly to full attention. She'd likely dozed off, understandable considering her general lack of rest since early the day before.

Tap Tap Tap

There... even from the second floor she could detect the sound of someone seeking entrance to the restaurant despite the obvious closed sign. Usually the building would be so full of bustling chatter that nothing short of a slam would penetrate to her room, but the hollow halls of the Cat Café seemed little more than an echo chamber today.

Shampoo rose from the disorganized ruins of her life and casually strolled to the door, her annoyance growing with each illiterate tap. She caught the offender mid swing when she opened the door and snapped, "Why idiot weakling not read sign? Even Shampoo can read sign! We is closed!"

The would-be customer backpedaled, narrowly avoiding falling over. "Uh... U'm nut heea fur lunch. Pleez..." he whined.

Shampoo's gaze narrowed, focused on the ridiculous accessory of a bright green plastic clothespin fastened on his nose. "What, you want challenge Shampoo? This say Shampoo stink?"

"Nu, uh, nuthun like thut," Hikaru pleaded. "I jus hurd yuu hav uccult muteriuls hur."

Something about this boy clicked. "So, weakling come to Shampoo looking for... black stinkweed, maybe?" His eyes went wide, then he closed them and threw his arms wide in celebration... and then she sucker punched him in the gut.

"Why... did you... do that?" he moaned from the sidewalk, more understandable now that the clip had fallen off his nose. He seemed to realize it and looked around for the clip.

The Amazon casually tossed the lost item between her hands. "You is one cause trouble for Ai... Ranma, and too greedy girl, no? Shampoo no help you even if could."

"It was... accident," he gasped. "Akane..."

She really wanted to stay angry, but knew all too well how easily plans involving love potions and the like could go wrong. Her scowl melted a bit. "Well, Shampoo still no can help. Great-Grandmother take all her important things back home."

"Then I'm doomed," he croaked. "I smelled it yesterday... spent most of the afternoon... walking around shopping district, chasing it. Even now... feel like going back there, just to see."

The Amazon shook her head and bent down to mercifully replace his nose clip. "Great Grandmother say that mix have time limit. Hold out whole month, problem gone."

"Tree weeks... U'l neva make ut," Gosunkuji groaned.

"Shampoo already help more than should have. Go home, lock self in closet, maybe weak boy get lucky." With that she turned and returned to the building, shutting the door and wiping her hands clean of his problems. She still had more than enough of her own issues to deal with.

The biggest concern was packing; she was leaving this new world behind, perhaps forever, and had been entrusted to make sure everything important made the trip as well... but she obviously wasn't going to bring everything. Choices had to be made, and Shampoo was the only one here to make them.

Some of the choices were easy, or already made for her. Great-Grandmother had already taken everything really important, so there wasn't any particular pressure in the decision. All the various decorations, furniture, and tools of the restaurant she was willing to leave for the next owner, perhaps to sweeten the deal. Mousse could pack his own belongings, assuming the bothersome fool even decided to show again before the property was sold.

Shampoo paused at the small table besides the stairs, eyeing the sealed envelope the matriarch had left behind for Mousse. The temptation to open it, fueled by curiosity and bitterness that she hadn't been trusted to tell him whatever the note detailed, was hard to resist... but she managed.

More difficult was the task ahead, deciding which of her own collected debris would have to stay behind. Back in the village she owned nothing that wasn't essential, thus packing for her vengeance quest was a thoughtless act. Here, though, amid these strange foreign lands, she had found herself quickly developing a taste for the acquisition of trinkets and gadgets. A curious device here, something hideously cute there... in two years the Amazon warrior had become a closet shopaholic. Somehow the materialism of this culture had infected her to the point that abandoning her detritus felt almost like an act of self-mutilation.

The first slice was both the most obvious and the most painful; everything requiring electricity would be useless, battery powered or not. The small TV set with purple knobs, the portable radio headset with plastic cat ears, the 'dancing' pink flower with sunglasses, all of it, even the Hello Kitty back massage wand that made spatula girl so strangely uncomfortable when they plotted their attack on the wedding... all would be left by the wayside.

The choices that remained were paper cuts by comparison, but they were many and aggravated the previous wound at every strike. Any clothing requiring special washing processes or simply not sturdy enough for a warrior's lifestyle was shoved aside. Her small collection of bishonen manga would only weigh her down and had been read plenty of times before. Her box of simple, cheap jewelry and the make-up kit she had assembled would be less than useless; they would become items of scorn. The half-filled album of photographs...

No, those were coming along even if she had to keep them secret. She paused in her painful work to flip through the pages: Herself in a nurse's outfit, smiling and posed with the lifeless Betty. Mousse kissing a mop. Airen in his girl form, struggling to keep pace with Great-Grandmother's cooking...

No, not Airen. Just Ranma.

Bang! Bang!

The door again... and when had she started crying? She rose quickly and headed towards the door, intending to show the idiot the closed sign, repeatedly and forcefully if necessary. The album fell from her grasp, forgotten, and landed in the discard pile with a dull thump.

Bang! Bang!

She paused at the door just long enough to wipe her eyes, and then threw open the door prepared to launch into a tirade using several parts of her Japanese vocabulary that Great-Grandmother would frown on.

Getting hit in the face was not an expected part of this plan.

"Oh, what wretched twist of fate roused my blow at this ill-chosen moment?" her new Airen demanded of the sky before turning back to her. "Please, my fuchsia feline, if indeed you are still mine, I beg thee: revisit upon my traitorous visage just reprisal."

"Shampoo fine, just... unexpecting," she replied, her pride the only thing bruised by the incident. "What Airen want?"

"Why, to inquire of the evening's proceedings, of course. Did your heart dare to doubt I would sleep fitfully, if at all, veiled as your fate was to me? I took care to withhold my questions until a decent hour, knowing full well how tiring such a lurid business as sentencing an innocent maiden to slake the depraved instincts of the questionably-gendered fiend must be. But now, my lilac lynx, pray deliver unto my troubled soul good tidings!"

"What 'ly-lak' mean? Shampoo not knowing."

"Ah, I referred to you as my 'lilac lynx', dear one," the young samurai explained, switching to her first language. "I've been pondering various informal ways to refer to you... would you prefer my earlier attempt, fuchsia feline? Mauve mouser? Orchid ocelot? Purple-"

"Just Xian Pu is fine," she interrupted, ushering him in off the street. "Hearing my name spoken correctly is rare enough in this place."

"As you wish, Xian Pu." He smiled, but less enthusiastically than she had come to expect. "Now, please... to whom was Saotome bound?"

Shampoo briefly explained the evening's outcome, prompting a victorious laugh from her suitor.

"Ha ha! So the heavens have intervened at last! Oh, how I feared this day would never come... the beast forced to live out an exile from the fairer sex. Surely this is punishment more befitting his crimes than mere death could atone!" he crowed, then turned to her quizzically. "Why then is your heart troubled? What further ill has befallen thee?"

Shampoo wiped at her eyes again, annoyed that they had betrayed her mood. "Great-Grandmother has left me, and I must make preparations to return to my home for good."

"Ah, but that is no great care! Trouble yourself no more about it, for I shall make arrangements for the two of us and all your things to be flown to your home. Allow me but a day, two at most."

"Don't be silly... there isn't an airport anywhere near Joketsuzoku. Besides, I still need to sell the restaurant and Mu Tsu has instructions as well."

"The building is easily dealt with; I'll simply instruct our bank to purchase the property from you at a more than fair market price. I can't speak for the foul-tempered serving wretch, but I assure you travel won't be a problem... if necessary we can hire coachmen with off-road vehicles to convey us."

"That's really too much... I can't ask that much of you." Shampoo replied.

"But of course you can, Xian Pu. What sort of husband would I be if I failed to make these trifling problems disappear when it would be so very easy?"

"You would be a very understanding Amazon husband," she returned, with a bit of fire in her voice. "These tasks were given to me, not you. I must accomplish them on my own, as a matter of honor. Your assistance would rob me of the challenge."

Tatewaki paused, and gazed at her for a lingering moment in silence, chewing his lip absently. "I see..." he began, more to himself. "In my culture it would be a great shame for me not to do these things, but perhaps we can reach a viable common ground. I propose you allow me to set up an auction for the property on your behalf. An agent of the bank can see to it the spoils of the market are deposited into an account in your name."

Now it was Shampoo's turn for contemplation. The offered compromise was a fair one, allowing her new Airen to help without bailing her out personally and thus leaving her responsibility intact. She actually wasn't sure how to deal with this development, something Ranma's stupid pride would never have allowed were places different. This man was a fool as quick to obsess as Mousse, less skillful and generally softer than Ranma had been, but perhaps beneath his prideful speeches he was far more reasonable than he appeared.

"Okay... you can set that up, and the plane... but we will travel from the airport to my village on foot. Bringing vehicles and servants would be far too showy an entrance, and likely a sign of weakness."

Kuno smiled broadly and nodded. "As you wish. Now, if I might have use of your phone..."

* * *

"Uh, Miss Ukyo, Aaa!" Konatsu yelped, quickly slamming the door again. "Sorry, I didn't know you had company!"

The young woman in question sprang to a sitting position, wide awake. "Company?" she wondered aloud.

The young man lying next to her, shirtless and above the covers, neither raised his head nor opened his eyes. His stilled breathing and tensed muscles gave away his alert status.

She pulled back to wallop the idiot, who was supposed to be on the floor not in her bed, but stopped when she noticed a series of dark bruises running up his side. Ukyo merely shoved him roughly off of the mattress and straightened her nightshirt.

"Um... sorry?" the pile of Mousse replied meekly from the floor.

"What did you need, Konatsu?" the chef called out, pointedly ignoring the Amazon for now.

"It's just that the lunch crowd is starting to come in. Oh, but don't worry Mistress, I'm sure I can handle it..."

"Damn, that late already? I'll be down as soon as I can, Konatsu," Ukyo answered, then turned to the other long-haired occupant of the room. "You can plan on helping out too, jackass."

"Uh, of course," Mousse replied. "And it really was an accident... I must have went to the bathroom and just wandered in without thinking."

"I'm going to take a quick shower, which you better damn well not interrupt," she announced. When he nodded and averted his gaze she made her trip across the room. "So, what happened to you, anyway?"

"Ryu happened. Imagine fighting with a faster, smarter Ryoga."

"Got your butt kicked again, eh Mr. Quackers? Seems like that's all you do anymore," she laughed, closing the door. "Or did you just think playing the sympathy card would get you lucky again?"

"I didn't lose. It was just a sparring match, so I didn't use any of my dangerous techniques... though I wish I had, now. And please don't call me that."

"Whatever you say, Ducky," she replied cheerfully, turning on the shower. "After the lunch rush you can take off and find somewhere else to crash. You blew your free ride, flyboy."

"Please don't call me that stuff..."

"Oh fine, I'll stop. Geez, cursed people just have no sense of humor," she mumbled as she tested the water temperature, then slipped inside.

"Where else can I go? Shampoo won't let me in, and the only other people I know around here are the Tendos. They haven't exactly been friendly in the past."

"Not my problem." The warmth of the water soaked into her skin, washing her cares down the drain.

"But, you're my wife..."

The water wasn't all that soothing, after all. "Mousse, I don't know how much clearer I can make this. I don't care about your silly laws. It was a stupid, one-time thing; a mistake. We. Are. Not. Married. End of discussion."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who can't go home because of this. Not alone, anyway."

"I... I can't go home either," Ukyo mumbled, hopefully too low for him to hear. "Mousse, just don't tell anybody and you've got no problem. Easy."

"But Ranma knows! If he said anything..."

"If he planned to say anything he would have done it last night. Hell, Ranma-honey may not have even suspected we did anything beyond drinking." She sure hoped so, at any rate, though it sounded hollow.

"The old mummy will know. She always knows. And what's more, I'll know what happened."

"You'll just have to learn to live with it. Bury it deep down and don't think about. If you do that, it won't show," she advised. With practice you can keep almost anything secret from anybody; even yourself.

Almost.

"What do you care about this law so much for anyway?" she asked, cutting off that line of thought. "It isn't like you've been a model Amazon male from what I've heard and seen."

"I guess the law was never on my side before now."

She paused at that. Something in his tone resonated with her in a way she found uncomfortable.

"They don't really respect me back in the village, on account of my eyes. Some of the elders want to kick me out just because I know a bit of the art. I don't have any family to speak of."

"Mousse..."

"It's even worse here though. Japanese people are so arrogant, so... well, racist. They hate me even before they find out about my other problems. No way I can get an education here, or land any decent job outside of another stupid stereotypical restaurant. I hate the way they compliment even the simplest action, like I'm a damn 4-year-old."

"Then you should travel," she suggested, "maybe to the States?"

"Yeah, so I can deal with even more racism, from people so ignorant they actually think their comments aren't offensive just because they say 'Asian' now, instead of 'Slant' or 'Gook'. Besides, I hear that many of them hunt ducks for fun. No thanks."

"I don't have an easy answer for you, Sugar," she replied, rinsing off a layer of soap suds. "But keep at it... You'll find your happiness out there somewhere."

"I know that. I found it two nights ago."

"Mousse, no." She sighed in frustration. Why was he being so stubborn?

"Don't you see Ukyo? All my life I've been passed around by people who don't think I'm worth a damn. Back in the village, here, even... even Shampoo treated me like dirt most of the time. Everywhere I've ever been, everyone I've ever talked to is just the same... except you. Sure you deny it, but I can tell it's just an act even if you haven't admitted it to yourself yet."

"I barely know you, and what little Ranma told me about you hasn't been all that complimentary," she replied, shutting off the flow. "Just because I don't treat you like crap doesn't mean I'm interested."

"We may not have known each other for long, but we already know each other better than practically anyone else in town, Ukyo. I know where you've been in the darkness of your heart, during those sleepless nights, on the empty road in a strange land... I know you in my soul, and the other night, when you finally dropped all your walls, you knew me too."

She paused, then went back to drying off. "Maybe we did have something there that night Mousse, but it wasn't love. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I still love Ranma. Stupid jackass stunts and all."

"You know he doesn't deserve you!"

"Maybe not," she answered, defensively, "but for all the trouble I've gone through in the last dozen years, I deserve him. Now that Shampoo and Kodachi are out of the picture it's just me and Akane... and she doesn't have that family honor line to fall back on anymore, either."

"You're just deluding yourself, Ukyo. He won't take you now that he doesn't have to choose anyone."

She threw her towel down, and huffed. "I'll make him love me, just you wait and see. Hell, if you stick around long enough you'll probably even end up helping me."

"No, I learned that lesson well in Jusendo. Shampoo could have been my slave but I gave her freedom... and now she hates me anyway. Ukyo, just because you love someone doesn't mean that you should blindly help them get what they want."

"Oh, and I suppose fighting with me is going to win my love? You're a complete jackass, Mousse! Kami, do you think I'm stupid enough to take relationship advice from someone who thinks winning a fight is the basis of romance?" She was growling the words out now as she pulled on her leggings.

"...And I'm done arguing about this for now. You're too mad to listen anymore without twisting everything around."

"You know what, Duck Boy?" she taunted, bitterly, "I changed my mind about work today. I'd rather you just got the hell out of here before I end up breaking my hand on your face."

No answer came for a while, though she could still hear movement coming from the room as she finished dressing and put up her hair. Finally she opened the door to find the bed remade, the futon out of sight, and the Amazon, fully dressed, standing by the open window. His hair was wild and his eyes looked a little red around the edges.

"I'll be back," he announced flatly, staring down the dresser, "And I'll make you see that the bastard you've been chasing all this time never really existed, at least not like you see him." He turned to face the window and paused long enough to mutter, "Damn him," before jumping out.

With a huff she slammed the window closed, and locked it. She walked over to the mirror above her dresser and growled out loud in frustration, then let out a sigh and forced a smile. It wasn't genuine, but it was good enough for business... and that was good enough for now.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I said I'd update sooner, and I reckon I'll be danged if I didn't! Um... well, a little faster than last time, right? Right?

Cologne's history lesson was based on a combination of real history, ancient fiction, and Chinese folklore. It was researched primarily with Wikipedia, but also using several other websites... whose addresses I seem to have forgotten to note. Great.

Anyway, I found some contradictory information among the many sources, but in the end just did a 'pick and choose' from the lot, tweaked around with the parts that worked with the story, and ignored the rest. There is also quite a bit more to these stories if any of you would like to read further. I especially recommend looking up the traditional tale 'Fengshen Yanyi', which details the fall of the Shang Dynasty with mythological flair.

The Kodachi/Taro scene was still far more troubling to write, though. I tried several different versions of that encounter, playing up different angles of each's personality, but the characters just refused to go where I wanted them to. In the end I just decided to write it from start to finish as a stream, and figure out what to do with the plotting later... so, at least in a small way, this fic is now officially off the rails.

The Shampoo scene was slightly autobiographical. I just got a new job, you see, and while finishing up this chapter have been making the preparations to move. While I'm certainly not planning on leaving all my electronics behind (and no, that doesn't include a Hello Kitty 'massager'), I still do feel a bit of existential woe at having to decide what bits of my collected nest aren't worth the trouble of packing. Everything in the trash pile is practically useless or worn-out, but all the same it's my useless junk, damnit! I'm not gonna spring for an actual moving company though, so out it goes... the couch is just more important.

**Name Translations:**

Ji hope

Táng to fall flat on one's face

Nourou to curse

Mizu dark, or 'Engrish' for Mrs.

Mei a lake or similar body of water

**New Scene Divider:**

Taro, because I was thinking of all his tentacles waving around.

If you don't know what I mean by this, it's probably because you're viewing this fic on , whose Quickedit software screws up my system of individualized scene dividers. If you're curious (it really isn't a big thing of important to the story... yet), check out the originally intended version archived at , and a bunch of other good reads, too!

If any of you still haven't realized it, let that link be all the proof you need that this will end up a Ranma/Nabiki pairing. Eventually. Kinda.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #2

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


	12. A Rhythm in the Flames: Act 4, pt 3

**Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall**

A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by NemesisZero

**Act 4: A Rhythm in the Flames**

Part 3

**Prereader:**

Rhyno

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

Ranma's 'plan' to resolve the fiancée mess has come and gone, and the resulting changes to the relationship landscape are still taking shape. Akane discovered that her father was wasting no time engaging her to the next guy who wandered into line, much to Ryoga's happy bewilderment. Ukyo was similarly displeased with Mousse's continued insistence that they were now married (following a rather eventful night of drinking), and eventually kicked him out. Kodachi cleaned up Taro's wounds before taking full advantage of her brother's absence, Kuno being across town helping Shampoo with the tasks Cologne set for her before leaving.

Meanwhile, the Amazon elder spent the duration of a flight to China giving Ranma a history lesson (also aimed at preventing him from slipping back into his demon-haunted dreams) while his mother listened in. The elder detailed the divine origins of the Jusenkyo valley, the common root of the valley's various residents, and the nature of the demon causing so much trouble. Ryu managed to sleep through the entire tale, much to a now very tired Ranma's annoyance.

* * *

It was a good day for a funeral. The sky was mostly clear and breezy, not one of the usual cold, gray, rainy Nerima mornings common this time of year. It wasn't the sort of day that would lend itself to sadness, which was good because Genma didn't feel particularly sad.

That's not to say he was particularly joyful to be burying his perverted master/father-in-law, either. He wanted to be happy, even felt he deserved to be, but this moment just wasn't playing out in the way he'd always dreamed. The old bastard had apparently died peacefully, if strangely, rather than holding out long enough for his long-suffering pupils to finally overcome him.

There were people in the assembly that actually seemed sad to see Happosai go, and those few tokens of genuine loss were also dampening the mood on this joyous occasion. The boy's teacher, the chi-vampire he halfheartedly suspected of killing the old goat, was sniffling pathetically into a handkerchief that obscured her childish face completely from view. A woman he didn't recognize stood by silently, at a distance, with two young children in... Santa hats? His old partner-in-perversion Luckosai didn't show, claiming illness, but sent along a bouquet of origami flowers decorated with a strange multi-hued metallic ink.

Genma was also too preoccupied by the absence of his family to really live in the moment. His clueless son was off in the wilds of China amidst a tribe full of backwards-thinking gynocentric lunatics, with only an arrogant cousin to back him up if things went wrong... and Nodoka of course, but he rather suspected that she would prove to be only a liability if things went sour. The boy had been his constant companion, and even as rocky as that relationship was he felt hollow when on his own. His son was a man now, able to stand on his own, but somewhere along the line things got mixed up and Genma had started depending on him more than he cared to admit.

Finally the sutra was coming to a close. It wasn't a very inspiring reading to say the least and he had tuned out most of it anyway, but then you get what you pay for. He wasn't about to go cash-crazy on the old bastard's funeral like some folks might have been inclined, but the lower-end of the funeral business were looking for things to be done in an almost drive-through manner which certainly wouldn't do, to say the least of the more unusual arrangements he sought. Most of the monks he had approached had balked at the things he wanted done to insure the master stayed dead. He finally settled on one who owed the family a favor and thus worked cheap, but hoped the monk did a better job sealing Happosai's soul away than he had done thus far in keeping the ridiculous little oni trapped in its box.

Hosting the funeral proceedings at his home helped keep the costs down as well, even if it was a bit tacky. There was simply no way he was springing for a temple ceremony, much less buying a burial plot for the old goat, especially since he left behind almost no money to cover the expenses. Besides, keeping the bastard in a corner of the yard made it easier to prepare his custom tomb and would make it simple to keep an eye on the plot, just in case the master did somehow manage to come back yet again.

The few attendees formed a line and began bringing up small offerings to be burnt along with the body. Several who actually knew the Master brought lacy bits of clothing to offer his restless soul, but luckily Soun had the foresight to collect those items away from the corpse on the off chance that such tokens of femininity might revive it. Genma took the opportunity presented by this break to deal with another small mater.

"So, Nabiki..." he began, sneaking up on his target who he had noticed slipping out the back earlier with a stack of envelopes in hand, "have you finished counting the cash offerings that the Master brought in?"

She looked up at him with a neutral expression and handed him the envelopes without fuss. "It's not enough to really bother running off with, I'm afraid," she sighed, "but I'm not surprised. I really didn't expect he had even this many friends."

"They aren't friends," he answered gruffly, slipping the envelopes into the inside pocket of his old blazer, already struggling to contain the girth he had gained since last donning the garment. "Just people who don't know him well enough to realize what a loathsome piece of garbage he really was. The only one who might have been considered a friend didn't bother show."

Nabiki smiled thinly, her eyes taking on a familiar predatory gleam. "Speaking of no-shows... where's the family? Don't you think it's a little inappropriate for the new master of the school not to attend the final service of the former one?"

"Something came up," he grunted. "Ranma's taking care of it."

"Typical. Just like a Saotome to run for cover when any actual work needs doing," Nabiki prodded. "And he even managed to stick you with the job. My how they grow, huh?"

"He's not running from anything, Nabiki. He'd be here if he could, but something came up, like I said."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Ah, so something interesting came along and you decided to take the safer job, eh? Now you're starting to sound believable."

"I'm no coward, girl. As soon as this mess is taken care of I'm going to try and meet up with him," he snapped, walking away. He always found the middle Tendo daughter simply infuriating to talk with. She always seemed to know just how to get under his skin and no compunction about doing so at every opportunity.

"Try to meet up," she repeated. "So they don't expect you to catch up? There isn't a plan? This story of yours just keeps getting more interesting Mr. Saotome. I'd almost think you did something to make him upset."

"Hardly," Genma replied, turning halfway around. "If it was up to me I'd be there right now where I can actually make a difference, but someone had to stay and make sure your father didn't screw the funeral up. I'm not leaving until I'm positive this time the little pervert is staying buried."

Her eyes narrowed. "So Genma, how does it feel now that your son is the man of the house? Is the life of leisure everything you hoped or does it bother you that Mr. Saotome wants to keep you occupied away from the important business, sheltered from the real action?"

He chuckled at the image; Ranma, indecisive as ever, trying to run a business. He'd probably end up answering phones while his secretary made all the decisions... assuming she wasn't too busy swooning, of course. The boy did have that talent at least.

"And auntie isn't here either," Nabiki paused, adopting an exaggerated expression of deep thought. "You don't suppose she's gauging his manliness personally now, do you? After all she didn't seem to care much that you were gone, but she's been fawning all over her little manly man ever since she found out... and he is the new man of the house, right?"

His jaw clenched and his knuckles went white. With barely controlled anger he marched up the girl and towered over her, glaring down at her smug face. "If you weren't just a weak little girl I'd break your damned jaw for saying something that vile about my family," he growled.

"And if you weren't such a weak little man you might be able to solve your problems without resorting to violence or just running away," she replied. "Geez, it's no wonder Ranma left you behind."

"You think you're so clever, but you don't know people half as well as you think you do Nabiki. Ranma actually wanted me to come along, and the only reason I'm still here is that the old witch convinced my wife that I'd be unwelcome in the Amazon village for some reason."

"There, finally some info I can use. Was it so hard to just answer a simple question?" She smiled and walked away, dropping a small wad of yen on the ground behind her. "And here's your money, by the way. Like I said, it's not enough to bother running off with."

He watched her walk away as if he were no threat at all, then glared down at the meager offerings as they lay in a lump on the raw earth of the temple path. Finally he growled and kicked the offending currency, scattering it into the breeze and across the grounds. That money had been for Happosai and therefore he wanted nothing to do with it, especially if Tendo's bitch of a daughter thought it was beneath even her. Saotome Genma still had some pride, after all.

* * *

In the distance the hazy tops of young mountains, still ancient by man's reckoning, dominated the skyline in proud unbroken spires... save perhaps one shattered, miserable specimen. She took a deep breath of the crisp, clear air, the thinness of the high altitude noticeably apparent. The smells of sweat and wood fire, apparently the main source of cooking fuel in this quaint little village, mixed in a not unpleasant fashion. Its musical accompaniment was the sound of deep but unlabored breathing and staccato impacts of flesh, set against the distant beat of thirty or so forceful stomps on the unyielding bare earth in near unison. The sensations combined to offer a rustic, primal charm that was quite invigorating.

Nodoka looked on with anticipation and pride as her son sparred with his older opponent, just warming up for a serious training session. The two firm-bodied young warriors were clearly holding back as they tested one another's form with mundane portions of their art, however the slight sheen of perspiration on their hairless bare chests as they alternately launched and deflected thunderous blows offered evidence that they were by no means slacking off. As they circled and swayed in the dance of combat Ranma's eyes were aglow with the thrill of competition, promising her that it wouldn't be long before the situation became interesting.

He'd slept into the afternoon and still looked a bit unrested, the deepness of his slumber no substitute for the dreams he'd been forced to miss by the old woman's dank-smelling herbs. As the elder was busy attending to matters with the local government she'd been left to her own devices, and had spent the day studying these backwards people in this time-forgotten environment.

In a way they were almost as ancient as the crumbling mountains around them. Their population getting by on primitive farming and livestock rearing, duties which fell on the men while their wives dealt with the more important matters of training, hunting, governing, and other specialized work. These men were hardy and strong from the physical work of the fields, but they spent as much time horsing about with one-another and the children as they did working. They had an altogether undisciplined, carefree manner only afforded them by their lack of any real responsibility, mere boys in bodies fit for men save one or two outsiders not yet completely broken of their pride.

The latter group were the only ones who seemed to notice as Ranma and Ryu steadily intensified the match, the pace and power increasing. The other males pointedly ignored the two warriors as their strikes became more risky and unorthodox, the dodges more acrobatic, lest they be confronted with the comparative evidence of their own emasculation.

The women on the other hand were far more passionate, going about their daily tasks with an intensity of purpose rare in the modern world. Everything worth doing was done with pride and precision, as much for the satisfaction of the worker as to reinforce their worthiness in the eyes of their peers. These women were formidable in mind and body, but ultimately were still very feminine at heart. Between moments of jaw-clenched determination and inhuman bravado they still giggled and glared, shared secrets to bond or to scorn others.

At the moment the giggling was coming from a group of young girls training across the field, their practice obviously hampered by the distracting presence of the outsiders. Nodoka sympathized with the instructor, an older teen, who was obviously torn between her frustrations with her students and her own desire to sneak more than a surreptitious glance. Anger and attraction... yes, those emotions would always come very easily to anyone around her son, often at the same time; his own special curse to bear.

And now the show was finally starting. Her son was finally pushing himself, throwing punches faster than his cousin could block... though it took an impressively high speed to reach that point. Ryu didn't seem phased though, simply backing off and snapping back with powerful strikes that forced Ranma to break his rhythm. Now it was a real contest, each trying to force the encounter to fit a style that favored them.

This went on for several more exchanges, both landing glancing blows but neither really gaining ground... but the tone of the match was changing. Ranma was getting more aggressive, attacking with quick bursts before feinting and coming back from a different angle. Ryu was still swinging but now only defensively, backing away from each new rush as it came and trying to deflect the brunt of the attack with a counter.

"Don't you think we've warmed up enough?" The older combatant finally asked, sidestepping a kick and rolling away from the follow up punch.

"Sure, if that's what you want," Ranma replied with a sinister grin, letting a globe of dark red energy punctuate his message.

Ryu quickly sidestepped but was not prepared for the globe to explode rather than pass by. "What the hell was that?" he demanded, rolling back to his feet.

"The chi of focused anger," Ranma growled, his hands cupping a much larger ball of swirling light that looked like tangled wisps of blood and ink. "You might wanna try dodging this one a little more effectively."

"Enough... let's start training already," Ryu suggested before being forced to dive out of the way.

"We are training. When you go invisible I'll stop havin' a target," his sensei snapped.

The bystanders stopped gawking now, their safety taking precedence over the view. Ranma's blasts were self-destructing before reaching any accidental targets, but not by much. Possibly not by choice, either... constantly channeling anger wasn't doing much for her son's composure. He'd stepped up the training further and was now tossing volleys rather than single bursts, taunting his student all the while for his continued visibility. Eventually a group of women, including Cologne and another shockingly old specimen, emerged from the council chamber and stood witness to the mayhem.

"I can't do this, damn it!" Ryu yelled in frustration, dodging another blast. "Every time I get close you bomb the whole area!"

"Whining ain't part of the technique," Ranma snarled, tossing another volley. "Ya just need more motivation."

"Enough!" the trainee yelled defiantly, striking a wide-legged stance then reaching out to catch two blasts as they approached. He froze in place as the spheres slammed into their target, but was unmoved. Rather then explode the attacks shrank and fizzled in his unyielding grasp. The earth rippled and bucked in a violent wave at his feet, though his footing did not slip.

Ranma paused in his attacks. He looked at his cousin with a narrowed glance, and a sly grin. "So, holding out on me, eh? I thought you said you hadn't developed any new chi techniques since last time we fought."

Ryu did not return the grin. "No, I said I didn't have any useful new chi attacks. Chi-based defenses, however... well, you didn't ask."

"Rooting your chi to the ambient ki of the earth. Yeah, that opens up some interesting opportunities," the defacto sensei remarked, casually charging another bundle of chi as he flexed his other hand, leaving only his index finger extended.

Cologne hopped into the open ground, apparently having seen enough. "Stop this madness, foolish boy!"

"There's just one more thing I wanna try before we quit..."

"The bakusai tenketsu?" she demanded, landing squarely in his path with a grim look on her weathered face.

Ranma said nothing, but glanced down to meet her gaze.

"I don't know how you picked it up," she began, "but let me ask you something, Ranma: Just what do you hope to accomplish? Using it while he's executing that defensive channeling technique will either do nothing at all or instantly kill him. Have you lost all sense of yourself?"

The young man tensed, on the verge of lashing out. His glare smoldered wordlessly as the chi ball he clutched pulsed, streamers of darkness coiling out of the sphere and trailing around his forearm, creeping ever higher.

"Just look at yourself. This is exactly why I told you to stop using chi techniques... don't you see that you're losing yourself in the moment, allowing the demon's influence to infect your mind? Ranma, you're on the verge of killing your own cousin just to satisfy your curiosity!"

Nodoka decided that it was time she step in as well. "I think that's enough for today, my son," she stated calmly, closing in. "There's no sense in fighting with the very people who intend to help you, is there?"

He turned to regard his mother as she approached, and his look softened. He closed his eyes and growled in frustration, then tossed the withheld ball of energy skyward where it exploded in a swirling spray of crimson sparks and black streaks that faded away like fog.

"Fine," Ranma sighed. "We'll call it a day, I guess."

Ryu balked. "You think? Actually, let's just call it quits altogether... as if I'm about to subject myself to more of this crap. Thanks but no thanks; I'll figure the rest out on my own," he muttered, walking off. "Why am I even here?"

"Suit yourself," Ranma replied in a loud, snotty tone, "But don't blame me when you still can't give me a decent match next time we meet." Seeing no reaction he kicked a stray rock angrily and strutted off, giving the elder a warning glance that he wanted to be alone.

"I fear we haven't much time," Cologne sighed.

"I'm sure it will all work out in the end," Nodoka assured her with a confident smile, "so long as he still listens to his mother."

* * *

"Geez... where the heck is Dad, anyway? I'm sick of this hypocrisy," the young woman growled.

"Akane," Kasumi sighed, looking down on her youngest sister with obvious disappointment.

"Oh come on Sis, don't you start pretending he was anything other than a nuisance, too" she complained.

"That's beside the point. He was the master of the school, and thus deserves at least a little common decency from all of us. Even if he was an evil, abusive, perverted, and generally useless old bastard he was still a human being."

"And how exactly does that make up for what you just said?" Ryoga wondered, fidgeting with his kimono again. It was tailored to fit her father, not the shorter, broader build of the present occupant so it was no surprise it didn't quite hang properly.

Kasumi slapped Ryoga's hand away from his collar then realigned his outer cloak to sit straight upon his shoulders, ignoring his annoyance at being childishly groomed. "Happosai had his demons to face, as we all do. Speak no more of him and let his death grant some manner of peace to everyone involved."

"If he was such a great master how come I've learned more from Ryoga in the last couple weeks than he ever showed me in the whole time he lived with us?" Akane complained, more to herself that anyone else. She cast a rueful glance at the burial plot where the monk was affixing spiritual seals to the outer rim of the small concrete bunker.

"Because you weren't ready, of course," she chided, "as Father told you earlier. If he had taught you directly it would have been a disgrace to Father, an acknowledgement that he didn't properly prepare you to take the next step on your own."

"Well that's not my fault!" the fiery-tempered Tendo snapped.

"Actually..." Kasumi began, then paused. "Akane, perhaps you should just take Ryoga home. I'll wait for Nabiki and Father."

Ryoga nodded in her sister's direction, and immediately began fidgeting again. "Yeah, this thing's driving me crazy. I can't wait to get back and change back to some of my own clothes."

"Hmm, I suppose," she agreed, annoyed at being sent away. The two walked in an uncomfortable silence out of the modest funeral grounds.

"Well, we can train a bit more when we get back. You almost got it to work last night," her newly arranged fiancé offered.

"Yeah, that's sounds good. I've got some anger to burn off anyway. The great Ranma couldn't be bothered to attend but we have to..."

"Hey, that's no good," Ryoga warned her. "You need the emotions, sure, but that's worthless without control. You'll just be channeling yourself into exhaustion with nothing to show for it again."

"I'm in complete control of my anger, thank you," Akane replied in a put-off tone. "I just don't have the proper outlet for it at the moment."

"Good to know that it's not me you're talking about." Ryoga offered a wry grin. "Don't worry about it... Nabiki said she'd get to the bottom of things, and when has she ever failed before? I think she's just as upset about the situation as you are."

"Assuming he wants to be found," Akane grumbled. "If he really wanted to get away we'd never find him. Hell, with those secret techniques of his he could be right in front of us and we'd have no way to tell."

"Uh, yeah..." Ryoga agreed, less confident than before. He kicked a patch of loose (well, loose enough for him) asphalt down the street, just to be on the safe side.

The conversation died again on that note, neither teen particularly enjoying that line of thought. They continued on in relative silence until a distant commotion caught their attention.

Akane squinted into the distance, finding a battle of sorts was taking place on the street ahead. A small crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle (even by Nerima standards) of a young man facing off in combat with a giant... pig? "Hey, isn't that..." she began, then stopped cold as she sensed a change in her companion's disposition.

"Katsunishiki," he confirmed with a sigh.

"We'd better see if Akari needs any help, Ryoga," she suggested.

"Yeah, I guess so..." he replied, pausing as if considering saying something else. With another deep sigh he collected himself then sprinted ahead.

Just as they approached, the tremendously large pig was thrown back by a powerful blow between its eyes delivered by a unique sort of polearm. The young owner of the animal gasped sharply as her champion was vanquished, running immediately to its side.

"Bastard!" Ryoga shouted, leaping towards the black-clothed figure to catch him squarely in the jaw as he turned in surprise. The young man crumpled immediately, rolling several feet before ending up a tangled heap of unconscious limbs.

The young Tendo girl had to wince at the sight, knowing that Ryoga hadn't pulled that punch nearly as much as he really should have. She glanced at him as he pulled back his hand and looked at it, his posture sagging slightly as he realized his error. She moved in to check on the fallen warrior, knowing that this round was over but the real contest for Ryoga was just beginning.

The crowd also understood that the floor show was at an end, and began to drift back to their daily routines. The surreal nature of Nerima had bred careful obliviousness into the population as a well-honed survival tactic.

She kneeled next to the young man, feeling his wrist for a pulse. To her surprise the boy, very much unconscious but otherwise not seeming to be much worse for wear, was still firmly grasping his weapon... a long-handled broom. Her eyes widened in recognition as she softly called his name, "Shinosuke?"

"Young miss!" the fallen young man's grandfather stated in surprise as he joined her in examining his charge. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"I'm sorry for that," Akane muttered, turning the limp body over to lie in a more natural position. "Ryoga overreacted there... we thought Shinosuke was attacking the pig's owner... a, uh, friend of his. I'm sure he just didn't recognize him."

The old man spared her a half-grin as he propped the boy's head up. "No apologies necessary, Miss... Tendo, was it? My foolish young apprentice forgot we weren't still out in the forest and attacked the pig on sight. Fighting giant creatures is one of the few things he really remembers, I'm afraid. Well, and you... somewhat."

Feeling a slight blush, Akane averted her gaze. Across the road Akari had pulled Ryoga in for a hug as they stood next to the downed animal. For a moment she felt a surge of anger, but it quickly subsided into a numb sadness as she caught the boy's pained expression over the other girl's shoulder.

"On second thought I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to see you again. After all, we're only in town because of your fiancé," the grandfather replied, stifling a slight cough.

"What did Ranma do now?" she wondered, then became annoyed that the jerk's name still sprang to mind immediately in association with that particular title. She wasn't especially eager to accept anyone else in that role for the time being.

The elderly man gazed blankly at her for a moment. "You don't know? But I thought you were among the afflicted he was trying to save with the last of the moss..."

"You mean that horrible incense he sent? He got that from you?" she speculated, amending her earlier notion that he had stolen it from somewhere.

Grandfather chuckled, then coughed lightly again. "Not from me, dear, though I did tell him how best to prepare it for the situation. That young man of yours fought the Orrochi again for the moss of life to save you and your friends. This time he managed to kill the beast, somehow destroying even the true head that great Susano-o left behind, finally freeing my grandson and I from our ancestral duty. You've got quite the young hero looking after you, miss."

"Hardly," she grumbled. "I suppose he forgot to mention that he's the one that screwed up our chi in the first place? I'm actually just coming home with my new fiancé from the funeral of someone that particular accident managed to kill."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry to hear that, for both your sakes," the man sighed, following her earlier glance. "Of course, this new one was also there fighting for you the first time we met, wasn't' he?"

Ryoga was holding Akari's hand as they talked in muted tones, stumbling over his words as she smiled up at him... but there was growing sadness in her expression.

"Yeah, he was there too... he tends to wander around like that, but at least he always manages to be there when I really need him," she replied, trying to smile. "I'm sorry about all this. Ryoga can get pretty protective of his friends sometimes."

"That's quite alright. As I said-," the thickly bearded fellow reassured her, but was interrupted by the sudden sound of a sharp crack.

Ryoga lowered his head and closed his eyes in an apologetic gesture as the girl held her own hand, pained. She glared at him for a moment, then turned to regard her pet who was now awake and attempting to right himself.

"Old friend, huh?" the older gentleman asked softly, without mirth.

"It's... complicated," Akane replied, standing.

"No miss, in fact it's all too simple..." he sighed, gazing at his still slowly waking charge. "But I can see it's none of my business, nor Shinosuke's."

"Ugh... what happened?" the boy groaned, roused by the conversation around him. "Um... are you the girl I've been looking for? Ak... something?"

The Tendo heir glanced away. "I'm sorry. You, um... You'll have to keep looking. Sorry," Akane said lightly as she walked towards the former couple, not waiting for a response.

"...and don't apologize for getting what you wanted all along, Ryoga. It demeans us both," Akari replied angrily as the young Tendo approached. She wasted no time climbing on the back of the sumo pig that continued glaring at the kneeling boy.

"Akari..." Akane called to the girl she considered a friend, unsure what else to say.

"Treat him well, Akane," she replied as she passed. "Treat him like the best pig in the whole wide world, because that's what he really is."

Akane just blinked, the girl's bitter tone at odds with her known fondness for the creatures leaving her unsure quite how to take that. She said nothing more as the girl passed, turning her attentions instead to Ryoga, who watched his former girlfriend with a forlorn expression as she left.

"Uh, miss?" the older man inquired after a nudge from his injured charge. When she didn't answer the two former animal handlers trudged after her, unable to keep up with her mount's surprisingly quick stride but following anyway.

"That really didn't go so well," Ryoga sighed.

"You could always call this whole thing off, you know," Akane offered. "It's only been a day, and it's just my dad's stupid idea anyway. If you want to go after her, go. I promise I won't be offended."

"No."

The finality of his answer put Akane back on her heels. "But Ryoga... you do like Akari, don't you? I thought you two made a really cute couple. Even Ranma thought so."

"I do have feelings for her," he admitted, "but I've been conflicted for some time. Akari pointed something out to me today though, something I hadn't realized. She was worried because I haven't written to her since I left for China, but she knew that she'd find me here. Akane, she came to this side of Tokyo because... this is where I belong. No matter how lost I get it seems my heart always leads me back to Nerima. To you, Akane."

"Ryoga..." she sighed, looking away. "I'm flattered, really, but I've never really thought of you that way. I always suspected you had a crush on me but you were always just... a friend, you know? I was Ranma's fiancée and that was that, whether I liked it or not."

"Ranma's gone, Akane," he whispered. "He's gone, but I'm still here."

"I know that's over. I think I'm even glad it's over, just to be done with it all. But I just got out of one arrangement and I'm not thrilled to be tossed right back into another before I even catch my breath." The girl gently caught his chin and brought the moping boy's eyes back to hers before continuing. "You understand what I'm saying, right Ryoga?"

"I understand that you're trying to give me a reason to quit, to go back to her. I'm sorry I hurt her, but Akari understands me better than I know myself. She told me she loves me just now. She loves me, and that's why she has to let me go."

"I don't love you, Ryoga. She does."

He smiled slightly. "But you haven't given me a fair chance yet."

"Did you give Akari a fair chance?"

Ryoga looked off into the distance, but did not reply.

The silence hung palpably between them as the pair made their way home, hand in hand. Just to keep him from getting lost, of course.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set over the ancient northern mountains, their forms more rounded by age than the peaks to the south. The ancient earth was silhouetted black against the golden hues of the sky, casting everything in a hazy twilight glow. In this strange, indirect light even the most mundane object seemingly held more significance, highlighted and almost aglow with an inner life beyond mere existence.

Considering the travelers' destination, however, appearances were hardly to be trusted in any light.

"Are ya sure he's gonna even be up there?" Ranma asked.

"I certainly hope so," she replied, pogoing alongside the young man. It was the first thing he'd said since leaving the village and she found herself slightly relieved at the end of his deep silence, quite an unnatural state for the boy.

"I still think we shoulda went to his shack first," the young man grumbled. "He's way more likely ta be there."

"Are you really so reckless that you would tempt fate brazenly?" the old woman scowled. "So long as there is a link between you I'll not allow you to get within sight of the demon's place of binding."

"What, you think I'm stupid enough to let it out? Geez, as if I even know how ta do that."

"Not willingly, no..." Cologne replied. "And furthermore, I doubt your mother would enjoy being cursed any more than you seem to. Since she's so very determined not to let you leave her sight I can't in good conscious drag her into that place."

"Don't restrict your options on my account," Nodoka wheezed, noticeably more weary from the climb than either of her companions. "I am perfectly willing to brave whatever dangers might cross our path... though I've no intention of foolishly capering wildly about these cursed pools of yours so I hardly see a threat there."

"You underestimate the threat the springs represent. They have a sinister power, a subconscious pull that draws travelers in and inevitably leads them to their fate. The guide and his family are the only ones immune to its dark calling... save those who have already felt its corrupting touch."

"He's got some kinda special power?" Ranma wondered aloud. "I guess I just don't expect much from the guy. He didn't seem like he was really all that with it, ya know? Then again he did know about the source of the springs, so maybe he isn't just wasted space."

"Foolish boy, nothing at Jusenkyo is ever what it appears to be." She admonished him. "I admit the guide does seem a bit too casual at times for my liking, but there are mysterious forces protecting him, just as they have protected every previous candidate for the position. The springs seem to choose their own caretaker, always an outsider male, and summon him from afar with an insatiable urge to explore."

"What about you then, Elder?" Nodoka wondered. "What special power would protect you from the spring's influence if you were to venture there?"

"It isn't wise to speak of such things in the village," she replied. "There are very few who remember, and I would like to keep it that way. But yes, I was once cursed in punishment, just as Shampoo was. I atoned for my mistake and was relived of its bourdon, so the springs have lost interest in me."

"Wow, really? What did you turn into?" Ranma inquired excitedly, walking backwards up the trail. Somehow he managed to absently weave between obstacles like he'd been up this path a million times.

"I'd rather not discuss it, nor would anyone else in the village who bears such a burden, so don't go asking around," she warned. "We believe that the form of the curse is a personal test, an expression of a person's weakest aspect, and thus too personal for polite conversation. It is also considered a dishonor to be cursed, though once it is lifted the stain is removed, save in the memories of others."

"I guess ya got a really bad one, huh?" The boy pressed.

"What exactly did you think you were doing this afternoon?" she replied, quickly changing the subject. "Even if it wasn't an extraordinarily bad idea for you to be using such techniques right now it would still be idiotic for you to do so in the middle of town!"

"It was hardly without precedent. There was a large group of young ladies training just a short distance away," Nodoka replied.

"That was a group of beginners, practicing basic forms in an open area," the elder explained. "Quite a difference from two people trying to kill one another with chi attacks near several houses, wouldn't you say?"

"It didn't start that way," he began defiantly, but trailed off as he added, "It just sorta... got outta hand."

This was a behavior that needed to be put down, and soon. She didn't hold back her anger in dressing the boy down this time. "Well, that's only to be expected when you use negative chi in such a clumsy, direct manner, you foolish boy! Even you can't possibly tap into deep feelings of fear and anger over and over again without it affecting your control, especially with the influence of a demon in your head!"

"I wasn't using fear today..."

"Not today, no, but you do it far too often anyway," she snapped.

"So you know, then..." he hazarded, turning back around to avoid her eyes. As if she couldn't navigate his mind without looking as easily as he could navigate this trail.

Seeing an avenue to get her point across, she relented the attitude just a little as she answered. "I guessed quite some time ago what memory you would use to fuel those blasts of yours, as easily as you seem to be able to draw them up. Confidence indeed... I'm genuinely surprised you don't slip into the cat-fist every time you try."

"Genma," His mother growled, shaking her head in annoyance. Her hand tightened on the scabbard she was using as a walking stick.

"I did the first time I tried it," he admitted. "Pissed Akane off something fierce... something about ruining her homework. Then I tried it on pops 'cause he was buggin' me, and learned that mixing it with other emotions helps keep it under control."

"But such use will only make it progressively easier to summon those feelings... and I'm willing to bet your fear of cats is getting worse again," the elder gravely intoned. "Hardly surprising when you're reveling in it rather than confronting and conquering your fears like you should. Power always comes at a price, child. Sometimes far too dear a price."

"I can't really help it though... my rivals learn new tricks and I have to keep up."

"Oh hogwash! Ryoga is the only one of them that can even make you pay attention, and even that's getting pretty rare," she snorted. "And every time one of them does manage to learn something new you copy and improve upon the technique before they even know how best to use it against you... no doubt that explains your knowledge of the breaking point technique as well.

"Ranma, your only weakness is that you are still thinking outside yourself, trying to find better ways to hurt others. True power comes from internal mastery, from making yourself unassailable. Right now you gamble recklessly on flashy techniques, but if you would focus that talent instead on not losing I suspect you would have much less trouble."

"I don't know... that sounds too much like just stalling to me," he complained. "Fat lotta good that did me with the fiancée problem."

"That wasn't an example of trying not to lose... that was an example of not trying at all," she replied curtly. "Just like the Council, really... they want more information before they will allow me to do anything about your situation. Fools, the lot of them."

"Allow you?" Nodoka repeated. "I was under the impression that you were the head of the council."

"I was," Cologne explained with an acusational undertone, shattering a stone with staff as she bounced off of it. "I had to give up my chair when I decided to make an extended stay in Japan to help my great-granddaughter remove her own curse of dishonor."

"Oh," Ranma replied simply.

"Everything has a price, Ranma, good or bad" she sighed. "The trick is to spend wisely."

Conversation stalled again as the climb grew steeper. The elder found herself pondering just how the guide managed to retain his remarkable girth if he traversed this path daily... and why the path itself was so unkempt. Perhaps there was an alternate route to his cliffside home?

At length the trail became more orderly, the rough stone worn into smooth steps by several lifetimes of purposeful footfalls. On one side of the path a small garden somehow found earth to flourish in, leading up to the guide's home. At first glance it was nothing more than a shack built of stone blocks, but a closer inspection revealed that the home had been carved from the raw mountain as a whole, the grooves between blocks serving as mere decoration.

"Ah! What you do here Honored Guests?" the corpulent man inquired, looking from his tea. The guide sat on a small, low bench and reclined against the western wall, apparently watching as the last rays of sunlight played across the valley far below. From this distance the cursed pools seemed to blaze with a golden light, glittering bright against the darkening earth.

"Greetings, Shan Zedong," the Amazon replied with formality.

"Yo," Ranma added in a guarded tone.

"Why you is back so soon?" the guide asked the boy, genuinely curious.

Cologne dismounted her staff and approached the man. "I need to ask you a few questions pertaining to our unique situation. Your knowledge of the springs would be most helpful."

"Is always good day for guests," the man replied with a half-hidden sigh, grunting slightly as he rose to his feet. "Come, rest. I make more tea."

The trio entered the man's home, a fine place apparently carved from the raw stone of the mountain. Ranma followed Cologne absently, taking in the sights as if for the first time. He particularly noted the way the different strata seemed to form a subtle decorative pattern wherever it was allowed to show from beneath the various insulating tapestries hung about the place.

He had been here less than a month ago, yet it all seemed only barely familiar. Still, he hadn't quite been himself at the time... and if the elder was right he might not be exactly himself right now, either.

"You like, I promise. Is very flavorful, very healthy," the guide assured them as he sat down, a well-used kettle in one hand and an elaborately carved jade bowl, covered, in the other.

"You needn't go to such trouble for us," Nodoka answered with a politely apologetic but halfhearted tone.

"Nonsense, any excuse to enjoy a good tea with company is reason enough," Cologne replied with a crooked smile. The obese man filled her glass with steaming water and a conspiratorial wink.

"None for me," Ranma stated gruffly, turning his unfilled cup upside down before him.

"No?" the guide replied, his momentary confusion apparent. "Hah! You is have enough of need hot water for lifetime, yes? Be happy with cold water again for while, eh?"

"So... you think I'm cured?" Ranma hazarded a guess, his eyes trained sharply on his host.

"Is wrong?" the man asked, taking a seat. "You not receive gift?"

"Well, how's about you tell me... What was it supposed to actually do ta me?" The young man continued, not waiting for a reply, "'Cause the way I heard it, the stuff coulda killed me."

"Ranma, this is hardly the time to make such baseless accusations," the Elder rebuked him. "We've come to seek this man's help, not to prove Happy's words were self-serving lies."

"But he did have a way of slipping in bits of the truth when you might least expect it, so long as that truth helped him," Nodoka rebuked the objection. "It would seem reasonable to make sure this gentleman is indeed trustworthy before involving him further."

"You is strange one," the guide replied in a suspicious tone. "Risk life to help, but angry to receive gift."

The elder sighed, but nodded. "Shan, it seems there may have

been some manner of misunderstanding regarding the present you sent this young man. I'm afraid the water was wasted before he could make use of it by an old fool who later claimed that it had borne no curse."

"No curse?" the rotund man repeated with an air of indignation. "Mei would never do such reckless a thing."

"So you're saying that it's at least possible?" the young man pressed. "And who is Mei?"

"Mei is daughter... You meet not long ago! Yes, is possible if Honored Guest go dig new pit or take springs that not agree and mix."

"Mixing multiple curses together can weaken the magical bonds within the water?" Nodoka raised an eyebrow. "How many types need to be mixed? Could other curses be mixed in as well?"

"I thought her name was Plum," Ranma answered, narrowing his eyes slightly. "And where is she, anyway?"

"Mei is 'Plum'; mean same. She is visit with... friend," the large man answered with some hesitation. "I know not other curses, but is not spring number that matters but mix type. Girl spring and boy spring cancel, for explain. You mix bad types, not matter how many other is mix; all effect is cancel," the guide replied patiently.

The elder's eyes widened. "Then the recent flooding..."

The guide waved her worries aside. "It normal again soon... just take while to sort out, is all. Nothing to worry. Water we send be just what needed."

"The cure was not in question Shan, but rather your intentions in providing it. Since I believe that has been cleared up, perhaps we can move on to more important matters?" The old woman looked over to Ranma, who shrugged and turned away from her gaze.

"Right then. It seems that this young martial artist here has been having quite a bit of trouble as of late, Shan. His curse has been acting strangely, he has suddenly discovered dangerous new abilities, is growing emotionally unstable, and has begun having vivid nightmares... all this since the springs were flooded and Saffron fell."

"You suspect..." the guide began, soon trailing off.

"The dreams he has described to me are visitations by the Pale One. There can be no doubt, the fiend is attempting to free himself using Ranma as either a surrogate body or a tool in some more elaborate scheme."

"No, this is not!" the guide steadfastly refused. "Seal is safe, guardians strong, and springs still have power. No way can escape."

Ranma's mother was not convinced. "I admit I'm new at all this, but surely with the guardian in his current state, I can only assume you mean this dreadful bird person Ranma recently defeated, and many of the springs suddenly reset that such a thing certainly might be possible, correct? How do you know the seal, whatever that is, is as safe as you assume?"

"If seal not safe, you for sure be knowing now," the man answered in a joking tone. "House is built on seal, so no can mistake. House still stand, seal safe. Besides, young Phoenix King only one guardian. Other guardian I speak with recently... annoyed would not stop Safu-Rong, but have ancient pledge of not fight. Other guardian did help keep Mei safe though, send to you for help."

"Yes, that worked out just splendidly," Cologne scoffed. "So, now that this episode has managed to result in Ranma becoming tainted, what do you suggest we do to resolve this?"

"You could always just teach me some fancy dream fighting techniques or somethin'. Just give me a trick or two ta work with and I'll kick him out of my head for good next time," Ranma offered.

"I don't think it would be wise for there to ever be a next time," Cologne remarked. "That would be the absolutely last option." Or second to last, anyway...

"Perhaps new dip in springs do job," the guide remarked, uncertainly.

"Under no circumstances will my son be dissolved away into your little bogs," Nodoka stated flatly, her eyes deadly calm. "If his death is deemed necessary it will be by my blade or not at all."

Ranma choked as his throat clenched, and began beating his chest with one fist as he struggled for breath.

"Calm yourself, dear," his mother consoled him, touching his shoulder. "I have perfect faith in your ability to overcome this setback, with or without the help of others. I only wish to clarify that you would never leave this world in any manner less manly than honorable suicide. Death in glorious combat would also be acceptable, but I doubt an opponent exists who could achieve such a victory over you, my son."

"That not what suggesting. Curse is prison for demon, so add more curse make cage stronger, maybe?"

"Hmm... that might have potential." Cologne sipped her tea thoughtfully.

"You wanna turn me into a freak like Pantyhose? Yeah right... ta hell with that idea!"

She set the cup back down before replying. "It's an option, Ranma, and that's something we are sorely lacking at the moment. Considering the only other two we have at present I think you should restrain your negativity."

Ranma's gaze drifted to the table and did not come back to meet hers. "This curse is bad enough already... and it's still way better than most of 'em have it. I have enough trouble with this body as it is, ya know? I'm not sure I could take it if I was some kinda damn monster half the time. Probably go crazy just from all the different things they'd be tryin' ta-" the boy closed his eyes and tried to suppress a shiver, "aww, just nevermind."

"I understand," the elder relied. "The changes of the springs are never purely physical, and even after being removed some of the more ingrained instincts can remain."

Ranma went still. "They... they never leave?"

"Only those traits of the curse you actively partake of, Ranma. Traits you resist usually fade in time even without a cure."

"Partake? Like... like what for example? Did anything stick with you from your curse?"

His mother eyed him thoughtfully, with an expression of that seemed to hold dark amusement though the rest of her face betrayed nothing.

"You aren't going to let this drop, are you?" The Amazon sighed. "Let's just say there's a reason I prefer hopping as a mode of transportation, okay?"

"You mean..."

"Yes."

"Geez, no wonder ya didn't want anybody to know," Ranma answered thoughtfully. "Bein' a girl ain't half bad compared to being stuck as a warty old toad. I mean, da- OW!"

"A toad indeed... you insolent lout! Just what part of a toad do you think reflects the conflict of my true nature?"

"Bugged-out eyes, leathery skin, croaky voi- OW!"

His mother retracted her still sheathed weapon. "I believe she meant something a bit more feminine, Ranma... and perhaps more befitting the youthful indiscretion that lead to her punishment? I would suspect the wise, patient, and kindhearted woman on whom your future partly rests was at one point in her life quite familiar with rabbits."

"Yes, my secret shame. It will remain secret, correct?" She all but growled at the boy.

"Well heck, I didn't think of that because ya were so ashamed of it and stuff." Her glare did not relent. "So, um, what's the big deal 'bout being a rabbit? They're agile, clever, tenacious... uh, real survivors those little suckers..."

"A hunter should never be trapped in the skin of prey."

Conversation died, and stayed that way until the portly host once again hazarded the turbulent sea of conversation. "Outcome of mixing all depend on springs used and how; if careful, maybe less noticed."

"Ah, but if the curse is his link to the boy then adding more might make the bond stronger? A conundrum."

"Yes Elder, is as you say... these things not sure. What springs exist now, I not even full knowing."

"Very well, Shan. You have been most helpful. There are others with which I would like to consult, so I trust you to investigate the possibilities we have discussed."

"Thank you for the tea," Nodoka added, rising with a slight bow.

"Yeah, and the, uh... gift, I guess. OW! What, what did I say?"

* * *

The heat of the furo was almost unbearable, precariously balanced at the point were both soothing and painful sensations overlapped. In short, it was exactly as she liked it. She sighed in satisfaction and slid downwards against the smooth marble, slowly, until she was fully submerged. She gazed upwards as her unbound locks floated above her, shifting against the sunset colors of the natural skylight like a canopy of leaves on a breezy day. She grinned openly, honestly, in this dream world where she could lose herself to memories of fonder days.

The sudden intrusion upon her sanctuary by a rough hand greedily seeking her breast soured her mood quite effectively. She dug her nails into the uninvited flesh and pulled herself up into the light.

"You wanna play rough, eh?" the barbarian leered.

"No," she spat. "I don't want to 'play' at all."

"Feh, come on... I know you've got another round left in ya. Hell, I barley got started that last time."

"I'm not in the mood right now," she replied coldly. "I suggest that you put any pent-up energy into a training session. You could certainly use the practice, predictable and slow as you are."

"Predictable? How the hell am I supposed to get creative when you're bossing me around all time?" Taro whined.

"I was referring to your fighting abilities, simpleton," she corrected, though he was right about that as well. "All that power is wasted if your opponent can see it coming, extra limbs or no. Maybe try using them at the same time for once."

Anger crossed his face, but he wisely restrained himself to striking the water rather than her. "You think I haven't tried that! Hey, it's harder to control all those limbs than it looks, okay?"

"Hence why I suggest practice," she grumbled as a deep chiming tone resonated from down the hall, "But first, get the door."

"What, me? I don't live here," Taro complained. "Besides, shouldn't you have servants for shit like that?"

"Why pay for something so trivial? That's the sort of lazy thinking that leads well-off families into ruin." She replied, pointing towards the hall.

"Fine, I can take a hint," he grumbled, acceding to her wishes at last.

She steamed at the frustrating gall of the man as she contemplated sinking once again into her bath, but new she would find no peace in her current mood. Ruefully she stepped out and wrapped herself in a thick cotton robe, taking time only to quickly dry her hair to being merely damp before venturing out.

"...don't care to discuss it. Is Kuno in or not?"

The anger carrying in the familiar voice at the door drew her curiosity. Thinking perhaps this would do to get rid of her sudden funk, she strolled toward the foyer, still dripping wet beneath her robe.

"Feh, several varieties, actually"

"Not that I can imagine it's any of your business, but I need to talk to the one who thinks he's the shogun."

"He's busy."

"Doing what?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"What exactly are you doing?" Kodachi demanded as she turned the final corner.

"I didn't expect you'd be too pleased to see any of Fem-boy's pals," Taro elaborated.

Nabiki ducked under the fool's arm as he turned to explain, sneaking past the doorstep into the foyer. "Kodachi, is your brother here? Or Shampoo?" she asked, slipping out of her shoes.

"Hey, what do you-" The young man began to complain.

Pathetic. "Awesome, go fetch us some tea, will you? Miss Tendo apparently has come here with a purpose, and I'm certain we have much to discuss."

"Awesome?" Nabiki inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

"Tea? What the hell do I look like to you?"

"Consider it a favor," Kodachi suggested, casting him a glance before sighing, "For me?"

"A favor. Yeah, sure, whatever," he grumbled, giving her a casual smack on the rear as he passed. "But I'm calling all the shots next time, princess. Feh, hope you remember to stretch first..." he continued, leering at her over his shoulder as he conversationally discussed these indecencies.

"Awesome?" Nabiki repeated with an amused grin.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, quite an odd name, isn't it?" she replied, ignoring the sting in her backside as she inwardly mocked the completely unjustified title. She gestured for her guest to follow as she continued, "As you can see he's practically useless for anything requiring tact or finesse, but he does have other uses."

"So, trying to pull a fast one now that the old bastard is dead, eh?" Nabiki taunted, speaking loudly in the direction of the crude fool. "Last I checked his name was really Pantyhose. At least he seems to have stopped wearing them himself though... that's some improvement, I guess."

"Indeed? Well, he does seem to have an unusually strong fondness for them," Kodachi replied as she took a seat. It did seem like a much better fit, but 'Awesome' had just as much potential for mockery without need to encourage his more unusual desires. His fetish was only her concern in so far as she could use it as a reward to keep him in his proper place.

It was a room Nabiki was surely well acquainted with by now, a relatively small corner chamber provided sparsely but adequately for simple talks and the like. An oval table carved of dark grey marble dominated the room, surrounded by a halo of thick green pillows and set atop a predominately brown decorative floor rug. The outer walls were simple stained hardwood hung with thin jade relief sculptures depicting samurai epics, while the inner walls were traditional screens, dyed black with a simple triangular floral pattern in a lighter grey around the upper and lower boarders.

It was a very calming room, quiet both in terms of sound and decoration. The effect was only enhanced by the arrival of a faintly bitter smelling tea, despite the best efforts of the scowling server.

"I just grabbed one," he explained. "Why do you need so many types, anyway?"

She ignored the idiotic question and set the tray and cups on a heated tray. "Gyokuro, a fine selection. Now be a dear and fetch my brother and his strumpet, won't you? And then perhaps you can practice your arts in the garden," she hinted once again.

"Whatever... not like I want to sit around drinking steamed weed juice anyway," he grumbled. "And just so you know, the old man changed it right before he died. Even cried at how he'd wronged me, the only one who was by his side at the end."

Nabiki rolled her eyes at the all-too-obvious fabrication, as the volunteer butler left. "Another few months and you may even get him housetrained," Nabiki smirked.

"Hardly worth the trouble... I'm sure I'll have gotten bored with him before then," the gymnast commented simply as she poured the tea into western style ceramic cups.

"Oh, I'm sure Mr. Awesome there can provide all –sorts- of variety, if you experiment a bit," Nabiki hinted.

The mistress looked back at her flatly, clamping down on the spike of anger her guest's attempt at an inside joke inspired. "I'd hardly tolerate the fool were it not for the curse you're so nimbly dancing around mentioning. An old habit for you, I assume."

Nabiki's guard fell noticeably as her private joke was called as a bluff, sending the girl fumbling for her cup to hide behind as she regained her composure.

"Have I shocked you?" the hostess asked as she adjusted the lapels of her robe, fluttering them briefly. "How droll. I thought you of all people would be able to keep a straight face. You're usually so very good at keeping your true feelings well hidden... a perfect temperament for the consummate deceiver."

"Sister, what mischief conceived in you the desire to send that ill-bred hoodlum of yours to interrupt my... Ah, I see," Tatewaki trailed off upon entering the room with Shampoo in tow. "Come, my love. I expect we may bare witness to a rare spectacle."

"Rare... sight was yesterday. This not even count in Shampoo's book," the Amazon huffed as she obviously claimed a spot away from Kodachi.

"Indeed," her new husband agreed, sagely. "Sister, could you simply not be bothered to properly dress yourself today, either?"

"I prefer to air dry after a long soak, Brother dear, as you well know," Kodachi admonished him, striking at his well-known weaknesses.

"And daily do I wish I were less privy to your habits," her brother grumbled, squirming uncomfortably.

"Regardless, I hardly invited you to tea so that you could play the stoic prude for company. It seems Miss Tendo has come to discuss something."

Nabiki took a final sip of her tea and set it down, mask back in place. "Well, actually I mostly came to ask Shampoo a few questions. Depending on the answers, I may have a proposition for the rest of you."

"A pity," Tatewaki interjected. "I briefly permitted myself to assume you still had the decency to seek clemency for your trespasses against the Kuno family. Alas, perhaps the rueful whispers of your irredeemable soullessness do bear some degree of merit."

"You thought I was here to apologize? For what possible reason?"

The anger began to simmer, and she let it slip into her speech. "For lying to us, for making us out to be fools! You didn't even pause before abusing our purest hearts for the sake of filling your bottomless purse!"

"Oh please, that's richer than even you can afford," Nabiki leaned back and rolled her eyes. "Kuno, do you even remember the first time I sold you pictures of Ranma? You gave me some stupid present to hand off to your new crush, and what did I tell you? 'Give it to Ranma,' that's what."

"But... But you misled me! You didn't explain!"

"Didn't explain?" Nabiki complained, but a hint of a smile slipped through. "I dumped a kettle on him and made him change while you were holding onto him! I told you flat-out that they shared the same body and soul. What's not to get?"

"That you did... but still," the idiot mumbled.

"But nothing. You saw exactly what you wanted to see, and ignored anything that threatened that view."

"There was something about him... I just knew he was up to something, not to be trusted." Tatewaki lowered his head in shame, shrinking in on himself. He reached for Shampoo's hand before continuing, more to her than the rest of the table, "I suppose I was not prepared for such knowledge."

"And before you get started," Nabiki whirled to face her hostess, "You never actually asked me, and as far as I knew your brother should have filled you in about him. Either way, not my problem."

"You're right, he should have... but you know as well as I the limits of my dear brother's faculties. Regardless, you knowingly profited from our ignorance, manipulated events to keep us in the dark," She replied, coldly.

"And made me the laughing stock of Furinkan!" Tatewaki added, as if he hadn't secured that title prior to Ranma's arrival.

"Hey, who am I to turn down easy money? I don't really care what you three did with those pictures," Nabiki smirked, winking at Shampoo. "It's not my business to judge anybody's sexual preferences."

"Lucky you," Shampoo complained under her breath, glancing Kodachi's way. The mistress blew her a mocking kiss, silencing her with embarrassment... or perhaps anger?

"I'm not going to apologize because I didn't do anything wrong. That said," Nabiki paused, continuing in a passably sincere tone, "I may have an idea to help."

"And how perchance might one such as you aid the noble house of Kuno?" her brother snatched at the obvious bait.

"Easy, Kuno... drink some tea, let that brain rest a sec. I'll get back to that in a bit. For now, how about we focus on what I want? Shampoo?"

"What Money Girl want?"

"Ranma," Nabiki answered simply.

Despite herself, the declaration caused the gymnast a sharp intake of breath. She knew the bastard was not worthy of her, but she wasn't quite ready to let the idea go.

Shampoo reacted in similar fashion, she noted. Her brother on the other hand nearly choked on his tea.

"Oh please... don't you guys ever get tired of the jealousy game? That's not what I had in mind," Nabiki laughed their reactions away. "Ranma, you know where he is, right?"

"He with Great-Grandmother, back in village. Why you want know?" Shampoo's expression was guarded.

"Look, I already figured out where he was. That's not the point. What I need is a way to get there."

"Hold, Tendo. What manner of ends could lead one such as yourself into the wilds of the continent?"

"Money, honor, revenge..." she trailed off, ticking her fingers off once more than she gave a reason for. "It's complicated. Let's just sum it up that I've got some unfinished business and I'm not letting him get away until it's resolved."

"May not be option for you, Money Girl. Ranma in trouble, bad trouble," Shampoo cautioned.

"All the more reason for me to hurry, no?" Nabiki answered simply. "I noticed your auction notice at the shop, so I thought I'd better get over here before you skip town."

Tatewaki intercepted the question. "Our aspirations for the future are no concern of yours."

"See, that's where you're wrong. If you two are heading out too then it's likely you can get me there faster than I could on my own."

"Brother, you were not planning such a trip without informing me, were you?" Kodachi interrupted. A trip off to exotic lands did sound like an exciting venture... perhaps she would even experiment with some of the more interesting curses the area apparently had to offer. Besides, she wanted to know just what the Tendo wench was up to.

He hesitated, glancing at his reluctant new bride who simply shrugged in response. "I... hadn't imagined you would be interested in such details, Sister. Indeed I have secured the confidence of a chartered craft for departure after the sale of goods is completed."

"Excellent, Kuno. That's just exactly what I wanted to hear," Nabiki replied with a triumphant grin. "I'm going to need you to save a few seats for me on that flight."

Oh, it wouldn't be quite that easy. "Pray tell," she interrupted, "why do you suppose we would offer you even one such favor, let alone several? You hinted at an incentive of some sort earlier, did you not?"

"Surely you don't expect little old me to travel alone in the wilderness, do you?" Nabiki asked, innocently. "Besides, Daddy will throw a fit if I don't agree to take along some backup... at the very least Akane and Ryoga."

"And my sister's second question?"

"Yes, I promised I'd get back to that," Nabiki agreed. "What I have to offer is the chance to repair your reputations."

"Continue," Tatewaki urged.

"Right now everyone you know thinks of you both as either idiots, perverts, or both. Sure you could deny it, but that sort of thing only makes rumors worse. To get rid of a rumor you need either proof or somebody else to stick up for you."

"And you would accomplish this how?" the mistress inquired.

"By giving the people a lie they will want to believe, something with the ring of truth," she replied with a meaningful glance at the idiot. "I'll tell them I manipulated you both so I could keep tapping you for cash. That I tricked you into thinking Ranma was two separate people and sent false messages to convince you that he was interested despite his public refusals."

"In other words, you will simply state the truth, embellished to make yourself sound more important than you are," Kodachi translated. "Yet it sounds as if you intend to leave us the witless victims of the tale, manipulated by your machinations."

"Maybe, but no more than I do to pretty much everyone else. I've suckered just about all of Furinkan at one time or another. That's why they'll believe it when I say it."

"Why do this? Why you 'tell truth' now?" Shampoo wondered aloud.

Nabiki paused for a moment, perhaps caught unprepared. "Well... maybe you figured it all out now that Ranma's gone. I couldn't trick you any more, and decided to admit what I'd done to avoid a lawsuit."

Tatewaki stroked his hairless chin in a poor imitation of deep thought. "Hmm... this new addition seems quite appealing, supporting the perception that I... that we eventually defeated you in your own chosen arena."

"Yeah, well... bonus for you, I guess," Nabiki replied casually, though surely she wasn't happy about that idea. Still, it was probably the closest to a proper apology the wench would ever willingly offer.

"I can have that story circulating as soon as school starts up again, and by the time we get back you'll be free and clear. So... shall I go home and get packed?"

"You get Spatula Girl to come too," Shampoo added.

"Why?" Kodachi asked, wondering what made the foreigner feel she was in a position to seek compensations.

"Is Shampoo business. Get her there is you business."

Nabiki narrowed her gaze, apparently as suspicious as she was. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

Tatewaki glanced at his bothersome new wife, who gave him a nod. "We are agreed then. I shall dispatch transportation to your residence when tomorrow's task is concluded."

"Well then, I'd better get going." Nabiki stood to leave and gave a short bow. Shampoo was grinning slightly, and the mercenary briefly returned with a broad smile. Whatever game was being played here, the challenge had been mutually accepted.

"Let me see you out," Kodachi offered, seeking to continue the discussion away from prying ears.

They walked in silence until Nabiki sat on the small oak bench in the foyer to put her street shoes back on. "Something else on your mind?" she asked, continuing her actions.

"What do you suspect that barbarian is up to?" Kodachi whispered, taking a seat next to her.

The other girl shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not sure yet. Maybe some it's some sort of trap. Maybe she just thinks she could use the help to save Ranma. I don't really know."

"And what does Saotome need saving from?"

"Why do you care?" Nabiki returned.

"I find myself considering the same question," she replied. "You seem far more invested in this matter than your typical schemes."

Nabiki paused in consideration, then shook her head. "It's personal. Look, I just don't want to let him die while I've got something still on my conscience."

"Hmmm," Kodachi hummed to herself, considering the odd statement. The girl was feeling guilty about something she did to him? Or perhaps something that she didn't do... how curious.

"I just want you to be aware that I don't trust Shampoo in this situation. If it's a trap we'll probably need to work together to get out," the older girl replied as she stood, having finished with her shoes some time ago. "I don't trust you and I'm sure it's mutual, but we may need to call a truce."

"I suppose we will see when the time comes. Good evening."

**Author's Notes:**

Holy cow was this chapter a pain to write!

My overall plot outline was nowhere near detailed enough to cover this chapter well. It's mostly a problem of setup for later plot, made more complicated by the fact that none of the characters have much incentive to help each other at the outset. This caused me to have to suffer through a ton of frustrating revisions to get something I was even halfway satisfied with. Now I've got about fifteen pages of material set aside that just didn't seem to work, but hopefully I'll find a way to put some of it to good use in later chapters.

It's still too "Nabiki Tendo: Girl Detective" for my taste, but with Ranma out of town and everybody else wrapped up in their own problems she's about all I have left to start shoving idiots (A) into country (B) and get this story rolling at full speed again. I tried to mix things up, using her visits to peek in on some lesser-seen viewpoints and the newly developing relationship dynamics, but it still seems a little 'meh' to me. I ended up trimming out three entire scenes and added the Ranma/Ryu fight to spice things up, but it's still not what I really want. Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself... but I guess reviews will tell the tale, eh?

It's a little known fact that this story began as a Linkin Park "In the End" songfic that I felt had potential to be something more. On a related note, I'll probably be reposting some of my other songfics, though it's likely the lyrics will be removed and the fics generally reworked into a more traditional form... though a few of those early efforts are probably best left forgotten. A friend suggested that having something else to write might actually help cut down on the amount of downtime I need between updates, so I may give it a try. I will almost certainly be starting a one-shot Eva fic soon as well as an intentionally unstructured mess for the same series, so perhaps these will serve in this regard for the time being.

I'm also strongly considering doing a rewrite project on this story... again. Don't worry, it won't be anything major enough to alter the plot this time; just a little clean up of my earlier characterizations here and there. In retrospect I haven't been completely fair to Akane or Ukyo, Kasumi was probably a little too extreme even for what I wanted to accomplish, and Nabiki's moment of clarity is too sudden. I think polishing it up a bit in this way, especially the first couple of chapters, will make the story a little easier for some people to buy into long enough for me to genuinely set the hook.

So, in conclusion, I'm back. To all my returning readers, I'm sorry it took a year and change to find my way back again. I'm like the Ryoga of fanfiction in that way I suppose, but then again my individual chapters are longer than most people's completed stories so I guess I don't feel that bad about it. Heck, these notes are starting to get almost fic-worthy in length... enough rambling already! :D

**Name Translations (Chinese)**

Shan - Mountain  
Zedong - East of the marsh

So the Jusenkyo guide (who I felt ought to be given a name even if almost no-one ever really bothers to use it) is titled after the home he was predestined to inhabit. Poor guy... right from birth he was only referred to by his job function. Tyler Durden would not approve. Zedong was also the given name of infamous Chairman Mao, which tied in so well with the guide's clothing preferences that I just had to find a way to roll with it.

Mei - Plum (blossom)

His daughter's name is still Plum, but literally translated rather than phonetically like the Amazon names. Eh, they can't all be deep or funny.

NemesisZero, AKA Brian #0 (sure, why not?)

**Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered! Wow!**


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